Distributed and scalable client-based and microservices-based storage management

ABSTRACT

Embodiments are described for distributed and scalable client-based storage management and microservices-based storage management, which can operate in combination. Embodiments distribute responsibilities and client-specific information needed for storage management jobs away from a central storage manager and its management database. New features and components minimize communications to/from the storage manager and ensure the integrity and synchronization of data being distributed. The management database at the storage manager retains its role as repository of information for the data storage management system as a whole, yet without being a bottleneck to storage operations. Improvements are implemented within the storage manager, through new functionality added to clients, and further through a new micro-server component interposed between storage manager and clients.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO ANY PRIORITY APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/044,966 filed on Jul. 25, 2018. Any and all applications for which aforeign or domestic priority claim is identified in the Application DataSheet of the present application are hereby incorporated by reference intheir entireties under 37 CFR 1.57.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentand/or the patent disclosure as it appears in the United States Patentand Trademark Office patent file and/or records, but otherwise reservesall copyrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND

Businesses recognize the commercial value of their data and seekreliable, cost-effective ways to protect the information stored on theircomputer networks while minimizing impact on productivity. A companymight back up critical computing systems such as databases, fileservers, web servers, virtual machines, and so on as part of a regularmaintenance schedule. The company may similarly protect computingsystems used by its employees, such as those used by an accountingdepartment, marketing department, engineering department, and so forth.Given the rapid expansion of data under management, companies continueto seek innovative techniques for managing data growth and maintainingsystem performance.

Some traditional systems for managing data storage centralize how andwhere storage operations are managed, as management is generally drivenby and directed from a central controller such as a storage manager. Inmulti-storage-cell environments, each cell operates a central controllerfor storage operations within the cell. The central controller comprisesdata for managing the storage management system as a whole, fortriggering, managing, and tracking storage management jobs, and forstoring status and administrative parameters for properly managing thesejobs. Because in these traditional systems the management-related datais typically centralized, e.g., a database configured at the centralcontroller, components involved in storage operations requiresubstantial amounts of communications with and instructions from thecentral controller and database. The central controller and/or databasecan become bottlenecks when a data storage management system isimplemented with tens of thousands of clients. The bottlenecks, whetherthey manifest as processing overload, slow database access, insufficientcommunications resources, and/or network overload, affect systemperformance and limit growth. A more streamlined approach is needed.

SUMMARY

The present inventors devised technologies that overcome these obstaclesand offer distributed and scalable storage management using aclient-based architecture and/or a microservices-based architecture. Thenew architectures depart from the centralized approach in the prior art.Illustrative embodiments distribute management responsibilities and theinformation needed for storage management jobs away from the centralstorage manager and its management database. Accordingly, storageoperations are executed based on distributed control and distributedinformation without having to tap the storage manager or access themanagement database. New features minimize communications to/from thestorage manager and ensure the integrity and synchronization of data.The centralized management database at the storage manager retains itsrole as repository of information for the data storage management systemas a whole, yet without being a bottleneck to storage operations.Embodiments provide substantial advantages in larger data storagemanagement systems, e.g., having tens of or even hundreds of thousandsof clients. Embodiments are useful for supporting many mobile clients,which are often offline and away from the system. Advantageously,different geographies can be grouped into suitable client groups servedby an illustrative “microservices server” or “micro-server” that hassubstantial autonomy from the storage manager. Embodiments are alsouseful for providing tenant services in which different customers areassigned to distinct client groups, each client group served by its ownmicro-server.

CLIENT-BASED STORAGE MANAGEMENT. This architecture enables individualclients to perform storage operations relatively autonomously withoutaccess to the storage manager or its associated management database.Client-specific portions of the centralized management database (“clientview slices”) are distributed to individual clients where they arestored in a local “client management database” that comprises only suchdata from the centralized management database as forms the client's viewof the centralized management database. Thus, the client has all themanagement information it needs for performing storage operations. Atthe client, a data agent interoperates with a “client storage service”to use the client management database for executing storage operationsinvolving data at the client, e.g., backups, secondary copy operations,restores, etc. In some embodiments, read requests issued by the dataagent are served by the client storage service from the clientmanagement database, but write operations from the data agent continueto use traditional communications to/from the storage manager. Thisapproach minimizes synchronization needs between central and localdatabases. In other embodiments, the client storage service handles readrequests and write operations issued by the data agent from/to theclient management database without contacting the storage manager and/orits management database to perform storage operations. This approachprovides more autonomy to the client. The client backs up the clientmanagement database for additional protection and robustness.Periodically or occasionally each client management databasesynchronizes with the centralized management database, which includesupdates queued up at the storage manager and/or new informationgenerated at the client.

MICROSERVICES-BASED STORAGE MANAGEMENT. This architecture enablescertain groups of clients to be serviced by respective micro-servers.Control and client view slices are distributed by interposing themicro-server between the storage manager and a group of clients, whichare serviced exclusively by the micro-server and not by the storagemanager. In this microservices-based architecture, data agents at eachclient communicate with the micro-server and not with the storagemanager for performing storage operations. The micro-server comprises a“group storage service” and a “client-group management database” thatcomprises client view slices for clients assigned to the particulargroup. Thus, read requests and write operations issued by a data agentare serviced by the group storage service, which handles reads andwrites from/to the client-group management database. The micro-serverbacks up the client-group management database. Periodically oroccasionally each client-group management database synchronizes with thecentralized management database at the storage manager, which includesupdates queued up at the storage manager and/or new informationgenerated by clients in the group.

An illustrative data storage management system can comprise any numberof client-based and/or microservices-based storage managementcomponents, without limitation, thus maximizing flexibility andscalability. Both illustrative architectures enable the central storagemanager to distribute control of storage operations to other components(e.g., clients and/or micro-servers) and to substantially reducecommunications to/from the storage manager such as communications neededfor storage operations at the clients.

To track and manage the taking of proper client view slices, the storagemanager sets “triggers” within the management database. All databaseitems associated with a given client, such as one or more tables of arelational database, carry a trigger. When a trigger-carrying tablechanges, the trigger causes an update request to be queued at thestorage manager and further causes the changed element (e.g., a row inthe table) to be captured into a “capture table”, where it resides untiltransmitted to the client. The storage manager comprises new featuresfor propagating policy changes to appropriate clients according to thenew architectures. For example, if an administrator adds/changes apolicy (e.g., a schedule policy or a backup window) that affects severalclients, the storage manager identifies all affected clients andsets/updates triggers accordingly to any tables comprising informationfor those clients.

If a given client, e.g., client A, is affected by an administrativechange such as a change to a backup schedule, backup destination,retention period, etc., the change is first effectuated in themanagement database at the storage manager, e.g., in row R of table T.The trigger for table T detects the change and causes an update requestto be queued to a work queue managed by the storage manager; and furthercauses row R to be added to capture table CT. At a suitable time, e.g.,when the storage manager becomes aware that client A is online, onlyupdates for client A (e.g., row R) are extracted from capture table CTinto a client-specific table—an “extracted client table” E. The storagemanager adds an “operation indicator” to each row in extracted clienttable E, flagging the row as an update of existing data, new data, or adeletion of existing data. The storage manager computes a hash value HEfor each extracted client table E, and transmits all tables E and theirassociated hash values HE to the client—or, in reference to a group ofclients, transmits the package of data to a micro-server assigned to theclient group.

The illustrative distributed components (e.g., clients and/ormicro-servers) comprise functionality for checking the integrity of datareceived from the storage manager (e.g., extracted client tables) andfor taking action when updates fail. When a component receives data fromthe storage manager that is targeted to the local management database(e.g., client management database, client-group management database),the component compares hash values included with the received data(e.g., hash value HE) against locally computed hash values. Whendiscrepancies are detected, the received data is ignored, the storagemanager is notified of the failed update, and the local managementdatabase is marked “invalid” and is not used until a valid updatearrives from the storage manager. When the client management database is“invalid”, the data agent at the client uses conventional communicationsto/from the storage manager for performing storage operations, e.g.,requesting and receiving detailed instructions, reporting operation andjob status, etc.; this approach prevents storage operations from beingdisabled or delayed by a failed update. Illustratively, the conventionalcommunications pass through the client storage service to/from thestorage manager, thus preserving the data agent's communicativerelationship with the client storage service. Similarly, when theclient-group management database is “invalid” at the micro-server, thegroup storage service thereon passes through conventional communicationsfrom data agents on the clients to/from the storage manager forperforming storage operations without using the local client-groupmanagement database; pass-through preserves the data agent'scommunicative relationship with the group storage service.

When no hash discrepancies are detected on data received from thestorage manager (e.g., extracted client tables), the distributedcomponent (e.g., client and/or micro-server) applies the received datato its local management database (e.g., client management database,client-group management database, respectively). In each row, theoperation indicator indicates how the received data (e.g., a row in atable) should be applied. So long as the local management databaseremains in a “valid” or “validated” state, storage operations for datagenerated by the respective client are performed using the localmanagement database, i.e., autonomously and without assistance from thestorage manager. Updates are transmitted to the storage manager duringsynchronization.

The storage manager comprises enhanced functionality for furtherreducing communications to/from these distributed components by usinghash functions to detect “fake” updates that merely repeat existingdata. When the storage manager detects a “fake” update, it refrains fromsending it. Likewise, clients and/or micro-servers also refrain fromsending “fake” updates from their own local databases to the storagemanager.

The illustrative embodiments provide technological improvements toovercome shortcomings of certain data storage management systems, namelybottlenecks presented by the central storage manager and/or managementdatabase. The technological improvements are implemented within thestorage manager and through new functionality added to clients andfurther through a new micro-server component interposed between thestorage manager and certain clients. The disclosed architecturesespecially benefit very large systems, systems havinggeographically-distinct groups of clients, and/or systems for tenantservices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary informationmanagement system.

FIG. 1B is a detailed view of a primary storage device, a secondarystorage device, and some examples of primary data and secondary copydata.

FIG. 1C is a block diagram of an exemplary information management systemincluding a storage manager, one or more data agents, and one or moremedia agents.

FIG. 1D is a block diagram illustrating a scalable informationmanagement system.

FIG. 1E illustrates certain secondary copy operations according to anexemplary storage policy.

FIGS. 1F-1H are block diagrams illustrating suitable data structuresthat may be employed by the information management system.

FIG. 2A illustrates a system and technique for synchronizing primarydata to a destination such as a failover site using secondary copy data.

FIG. 2B illustrates an information management system architectureincorporating use of a network file system (NFS) protocol forcommunicating between the primary and secondary storage subsystems.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram of an example of a highly scalable manageddata pool architecture.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating some salient portions of a system300 for Distributed And Scalable Client-Based Storage Management,according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that depicts an embodiment of system 300comprising a plurality of clients, and respective communicationspathways therefor.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating some salient portions of a system500 for distributed and scalable microservices-based storage management,according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting certain salient details ofcomponents operating in a system 300 and/or system 500.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 700 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 800 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 900 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations of block704 in method 700, 800, and/or 900.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations of block722 in method 700, 800, 900 and/or 1200.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 1200 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Detailed descriptions and examples according to one or more illustrativeembodiments of the present invention are found in the section entitledDISTRIBUTED AND SCALABLE CLIENT-BASED AND MICROSERVICES-BASED STORAGEMANAGEMENT, as well as in the section entitled Example Embodiments, andalso in FIGS. 3-12 herein. Components and functionality for distributedand scalable client-based and microservices-based storage management maybe configured and/or incorporated into information management systemssuch as those described herein in FIGS. 1A-1H and 2A-2C. Variousembodiments described herein are intimately tied to, enabled by, andwould not exist except for, computer technology. For example,distributed and scalable client-based and microservices-based storagemanagement described herein in reference to various embodiments cannotreasonably be performed by humans alone, without the computer technologyand electronic communications infrastructure upon which they areimplemented.

Information Management System Overview

With the increasing importance of protecting and leveraging data,organizations simply cannot risk losing critical data. Moreover, runawaydata growth and other modern realities make protecting and managing dataincreasingly difficult. There is therefore a need for efficient,powerful, and user-friendly solutions for protecting and managing dataand for smart and efficient management of data storage. Depending on thesize of the organization, there may be many data production sourceswhich are under the purview of tens, hundreds, or even thousands ofindividuals. In the past, individuals were sometimes responsible formanaging and protecting their own data, and a patchwork of hardware andsoftware point solutions may have been used in any given organization.These solutions were often provided by different vendors and had limitedor no interoperability. Certain embodiments described herein addressthese and other shortcomings of prior approaches by implementingscalable, unified, organization-wide information management, includingdata storage management.

FIG. 1A shows one such information management system 100 (or “system100”), which generally includes combinations of hardware and softwareconfigured to protect and manage data and metadata that are generatedand used by computing devices in system 100. System 100 may be referredto in some embodiments as a “storage management system” or a “datastorage management system.” System 100 performs information managementoperations, some of which may be referred to as “storage operations” or“data storage operations,” to protect and manage the data residing inand/or managed by system 100. The organization that employs system 100may be a corporation or other business entity, non-profit, educationalinstitution, household, governmental agency, or the like.

Generally, the systems and associated components described herein may becompatible with and/or provide some or all of the functionality of thesystems and corresponding components described in one or more of thefollowing U.S. patents/publications and patent applications assigned toCommvault Systems, Inc., each of which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety herein:

-   -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,035,880, entitled “Modular Backup and Retrieval        System Used in Conjunction With a Storage Area Network”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,298, entitled “System And Method For        Archiving Objects In An Information Store”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,246,207, entitled “System and Method for        Dynamically Performing Storage Operations in a Computer        Network”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,315,923, entitled “System And Method For        Combining Data Streams In Pipelined Storage Operations In A        Storage Network”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453, entitled “Hierarchical Systems and        Methods for Providing a Unified View of Storage Information”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,395,282, entitled “Hierarchical Backup and        Retrieval System”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,529,782, entitled “System and Methods for        Performing a Snapshot and for Restoring Data”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,262, entitled “System and Methods for        Monitoring Application Data in a Data Replication System”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,734,669, entitled “Managing Copies Of Data”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,747,579, entitled “Metabase for Facilitating        Data Classification”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,156,086, entitled “Systems And Methods For        Stored Data Verification”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,170,995, entitled “Method and System for Offline        Indexing of Content and Classifying Stored Data”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,230,195, entitled “System And Method For        Performing Auxiliary Storage Operations”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,285,681, entitled “Data Object Store and Server        for a Cloud Storage Environment, Including Data Deduplication        and Data Management Across Multiple Cloud Storage Sites”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,307,177, entitled “Systems And Methods For        Management Of Virtualization Data”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,652, entitled “Content-Aligned, Block-Based        Deduplication”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,578,120, entitled “Block-Level Single        Instancing”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 8,954,446, entitled “Client-Side Repository in a        Networked Deduplicated Storage System”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,900, entitled “Distributed Deduplicated        Storage System”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 9,098,495, entitled “Application-Aware and Remote        Single Instance Data Management”;    -   U.S. Pat. No. 9,239,687, entitled “Systems and Methods for        Retaining and Using Data Block Signatures in Data Protection        Operations”;    -   U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2006/0224846, entitled “System and Method to        Support Single Instance Storage Operations”;    -   U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2014/0201170, entitled “High Availability        Distributed Deduplicated Storage System”;    -   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/721,971, entitled        “Replication Using Deduplicated Secondary Copy Data”;    -   U.S. Patent Application No. 62/265,339 entitled “Live        Synchronization and Management of Virtual Machines across        Computing and Virtualization Platforms and Using Live        Synchronization to Support Disaster Recovery”;    -   U.S. Patent Application No. 62/273,286 entitled “Redundant and        Robust Distributed Deduplication Data Storage System”;    -   U.S. Patent Application No. 62/294,920, entitled “Data        Protection Operations Based on Network Path Information”;    -   U.S. Patent Application No. 62/297,057, entitled “Data        Restoration Operations Based on Network Path Information”; and    -   U.S. Patent Application No. 62/387,384, entitled        “Application-Level Live Synchronization Across Computing        Platforms Including Synchronizing Co-Resident Applications To        Disparate Standby Destinations And Selectively Synchronizing        Some Applications And Not Others”.

System 100 includes computing devices and computing technologies. Forinstance, system 100 can include one or more client computing devices102 and secondary storage computing devices 106, as well as storagemanager 140 or a host computing device for it. Computing devices caninclude, without limitation, one or more: workstations, personalcomputers, desktop computers, or other types of generally fixedcomputing systems such as mainframe computers, servers, andminicomputers. Other computing devices can include mobile or portablecomputing devices, such as one or more laptops, tablet computers,personal data assistants, mobile phones (such as smartphones), and othermobile or portable computing devices such as embedded computers, set topboxes, vehicle-mounted devices, wearable computers, etc. Servers caninclude mail servers, file servers, database servers, virtual machineservers, and web servers. Any given computing device comprises one ormore processors (e.g., CPU and/or single-core or multi-core processors),as well as corresponding non-transitory computer memory (e.g.,random-access memory (RAM)) for storing computer programs which are tobe executed by the one or more processors. Other computer memory formass storage of data may be packaged/configured with the computingdevice (e.g., an internal hard disk) and/or may be external andaccessible by the computing device (e.g., network-attached storage, astorage array, etc.). In some cases, a computing device includes cloudcomputing resources, which may be implemented as virtual machines. Forinstance, one or more virtual machines may be provided to theorganization by a third-party cloud service vendor.

In some embodiments, computing devices can include one or more virtualmachine(s) running on a physical host computing device (or “hostmachine”) operated by the organization. As one example, the organizationmay use one virtual machine as a database server and another virtualmachine as a mail server, both virtual machines operating on the samehost machine. A Virtual machine (“VM”) is a software implementation of acomputer that does not physically exist and is instead instantiated inan operating system of a physical computer (or host machine) to enableapplications to execute within the VM's environment, i.e., a VM emulatesa physical computer. AVM includes an operating system and associatedvirtual resources, such as computer memory and processor(s). Ahypervisor operates between the VM and the hardware of the physical hostmachine and is generally responsible for creating and running the VMs.Hypervisors are also known in the art as virtual machine monitors or avirtual machine managers or “VMMs”, and may be implemented in software,firmware, and/or specialized hardware installed on the host machine.Examples of hypervisors include ESX Server, by VMware, Inc. of PaloAlto, Calif.; Microsoft Virtual Server and Microsoft Windows ServerHyper-V, both by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash.; Sun xVM byOracle America Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif.; and Xen by Citrix Systems,Santa Clara, Calif. The hypervisor provides resources to each virtualoperating system such as a virtual processor, virtual memory, a virtualnetwork device, and a virtual disk. Each virtual machine has one or moreassociated virtual disks. The hypervisor typically stores the data ofvirtual disks in files on the file system of the physical host machine,called virtual machine disk files (“VMDK” in VMware lingo) or virtualhard disk image files (in Microsoft lingo). For example, VMware's ESXServer provides the Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) for the storageof virtual machine disk files. A virtual machine reads data from andwrites data to its virtual disk much the way that a physical machinereads data from and writes data to a physical disk. Examples oftechniques for implementing information management in a cloud computingenvironment are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,285,681. Examples oftechniques for implementing information management in a virtualizedcomputing environment are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,307,177.

Information management system 100 can also include electronic datastorage devices, generally used for mass storage of data, including,e.g., primary storage devices 104 and secondary storage devices 108.Storage devices can generally be of any suitable type including, withoutlimitation, disk drives, storage arrays (e.g., storage-area network(SAN) and/or network-attached storage (NAS) technology), semiconductormemory (e.g., solid state storage devices), network attached storage(NAS) devices, tape libraries, or other magnetic, non-tape storagedevices, optical media storage devices, DNA/RNA-based memory technology,combinations of the same, etc. In some embodiments, storage devices formpart of a distributed file system. In some cases, storage devices areprovided in a cloud storage environment (e.g., a private cloud or oneoperated by a third-party vendor), whether for primary data or secondarycopies or both.

Depending on context, the term “information management system” can referto generally all of the illustrated hardware and software components inFIG. 1C, or the term may refer to only a subset of the illustratedcomponents. For instance, in some cases, system 100 generally refers toa combination of specialized components used to protect, move, manage,manipulate, analyze, and/or process data and metadata generated byclient computing devices 102. However, system 100 in some cases does notinclude the underlying components that generate and/or store primarydata 112, such as the client computing devices 102 themselves, and theprimary storage devices 104. Likewise secondary storage devices 108(e.g., a third-party provided cloud storage environment) may not be partof system 100. As an example, “information management system” or“storage management system” may sometimes refer to one or more of thefollowing components, which will be described in further detail below:storage manager, data agent, and media agent.

One or more client computing devices 102 may be part of system 100, eachclient computing device 102 having an operating system and at least oneapplication 110 and one or more accompanying data agents executingthereon; and associated with one or more primary storage devices 104storing primary data 112. Client computing device(s) 102 and primarystorage devices 104 may generally be referred to in some cases asprimary storage subsystem 117.

Client Computing Devices, Clients, and Subclients

Typically, a variety of sources in an organization produce data to beprotected and managed. As just one illustrative example, in a corporateenvironment such data sources can be employee workstations and companyservers such as a mail server, a web server, a database server, atransaction server, or the like. In system 100, data generation sourcesinclude one or more client computing devices 102. A computing devicethat has a data agent 142 installed and operating on it is generallyreferred to as a “client computing device” 102, and may include any typeof computing device, without limitation. A client computing device 102may be associated with one or more users and/or user accounts.

A “client” is a logical component of information management system 100,which may represent a logical grouping of one or more data agentsinstalled on a client computing device 102. Storage manager 140recognizes a client as a component of system 100, and in someembodiments, may automatically create a client component the first timea data agent 142 is installed on a client computing device 102. Becausedata generated by executable component(s) 110 is tracked by theassociated data agent 142 so that it may be properly protected in system100, a client may be said to generate data and to store the generateddata to primary storage, such as primary storage device 104. However,the terms “client” and “client computing device” as used herein do notimply that a client computing device 102 is necessarily configured inthe client/server sense relative to another computing device such as amail server, or that a client computing device 102 cannot be a server inits own right. As just a few examples, a client computing device 102 canbe and/or include mail servers, file servers, database servers, virtualmachine servers, and/or web servers.

Each client computing device 102 may have application(s) 110 executingthereon which generate and manipulate the data that is to be protectedfrom loss and managed in system 100. Applications 110 generallyfacilitate the operations of an organization, and can include, withoutlimitation, mail server applications (e.g., Microsoft Exchange Server),file system applications, mail client applications (e.g., MicrosoftExchange Client), database applications or database management systems(e.g., SQL, Oracle, SAP, Lotus Notes Database), word processingapplications (e.g., Microsoft Word), spreadsheet applications, financialapplications, presentation applications, graphics and/or videoapplications, browser applications, mobile applications, entertainmentapplications, and so on. Each application 110 may be accompanied by anapplication-specific data agent 142, though not all data agents 142 areapplication-specific or associated with only application. A file managerapplication, e.g., Microsoft Windows Explorer, may be considered anapplication 110 and may be accompanied by its own data agent 142. Clientcomputing devices 102 can have at least one operating system (e.g.,Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, IBM z/OS, Linux, other Unix-basedoperating systems, etc.) installed thereon, which may support or hostone or more file systems and other applications 110. In someembodiments, a virtual machine that executes on a host client computingdevice 102 may be considered an application 110 and may be accompaniedby a specific data agent 142 (e.g., virtual server data agent).

Client computing devices 102 and other components in system 100 can beconnected to one another via one or more electronic communicationpathways 114. For example, a first communication pathway 114 maycommunicatively couple client computing device 102 and secondary storagecomputing device 106; a second communication pathway 114 maycommunicatively couple storage manager 140 and client computing device102; and a third communication pathway 114 may communicatively couplestorage manager 140 and secondary storage computing device 106, etc.(see, e.g., FIG. 1A and FIG. 1C). A communication pathway 114 caninclude one or more networks or other connection types including one ormore of the following, without limitation: the Internet, a wide areanetwork (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a Storage Area Network (SAN),a Fibre Channel (FC) connection, a Small Computer System Interface(SCSI) connection, a virtual private network (VPN), a token ring orTCP/IP based network, an intranet network, a point-to-point link, acellular network, a wireless data transmission system, a two-way cablesystem, an interactive kiosk network, a satellite network, a broadbandnetwork, a baseband network, a neural network, a mesh network, an ad hocnetwork, other appropriate computer or telecommunications networks,combinations of the same or the like. Communication pathways 114 in somecases may also include application programming interfaces (APIs)including, e.g., cloud service provider APIs, virtual machine managementAPIs, and hosted service provider APIs. The underlying infrastructure ofcommunication pathways 114 may be wired and/or wireless, analog and/ordigital, or any combination thereof; and the facilities used may beprivate, public, third-party provided, or any combination thereof,without limitation.

A “subclient” is a logical grouping of all or part of a client's primarydata 112. In general, a subclient may be defined according to how thesubclient data is to be protected as a unit in system 100. For example,a subclient may be associated with a certain storage policy. A givenclient may thus comprise several subclients, each subclient associatedwith a different storage policy. For example, some files may form afirst subclient that requires compression and deduplication and isassociated with a first storage policy. Other files of the client mayform a second subclient that requires a different retention schedule aswell as encryption, and may be associated with a different, secondstorage policy. As a result, though the primary data may be generated bythe same application 110 and may belong to one given client, portions ofthe data may be assigned to different subclients for distinct treatmentby system 100. More detail on subclients is given in regard to storagepolicies below.

Primary Data and Exemplary Primary Storage Devices

Primary data 112 is generally production data or “live” data generatedby the operating system and/or applications 110 executing on clientcomputing device 102. Primary data 112 is generally stored on primarystorage device(s) 104 and is organized via a file system operating onthe client computing device 102. Thus, client computing device(s) 102and corresponding applications 110 may create, access, modify, write,delete, and otherwise use primary data 112. Primary data 112 isgenerally in the native format of the source application 110. Primarydata 112 is an initial or first stored body of data generated by thesource application 110. Primary data 112 in some cases is createdsubstantially directly from data generated by the corresponding sourceapplication 110. It can be useful in performing certain tasks toorganize primary data 112 into units of different granularities. Ingeneral, primary data 112 can include files, directories, file systemvolumes, data blocks, extents, or any other hierarchies or organizationsof data objects. As used herein, a “data object” can refer to (i) anyfile that is currently addressable by a file system or that waspreviously addressable by the file system (e.g., an archive file),and/or to (ii) a subset of such a file (e.g., a data block, an extent,etc.). Primary data 112 may include structured data (e.g., databasefiles), unstructured data (e.g., documents), and/or semi-structureddata. See, e.g., FIG. 1B.

It can also be useful in performing certain functions of system 100 toaccess and modify metadata within primary data 112. Metadata generallyincludes information about data objects and/or characteristicsassociated with the data objects. For simplicity herein, it is to beunderstood that, unless expressly stated otherwise, any reference toprimary data 112 generally also includes its associated metadata, butreferences to metadata generally do not include the primary data.Metadata can include, without limitation, one or more of the following:the data owner (e.g., the client or user that generates the data), thelast modified time (e.g., the time of the most recent modification ofthe data object), a data object name (e.g., a file name), a data objectsize (e.g., a number of bytes of data), information about the content(e.g., an indication as to the existence of a particular search term),user-supplied tags, to/from information for email (e.g., an emailsender, recipient, etc.), creation date, file type (e.g., format orapplication type), last accessed time, application type (e.g., type ofapplication that generated the data object), location/network (e.g., acurrent, past or future location of the data object and network pathwaysto/from the data object), geographic location (e.g., GPS coordinates),frequency of change (e.g., a period in which the data object ismodified), business unit (e.g., a group or department that generates,manages or is otherwise associated with the data object), aginginformation (e.g., a schedule, such as a time period, in which the dataobject is migrated to secondary or long term storage), boot sectors,partition layouts, file location within a file folder directorystructure, user permissions, owners, groups, access control lists(ACLs), system metadata (e.g., registry information), combinations ofthe same or other similar information related to the data object. Inaddition to metadata generated by or related to file systems andoperating systems, some applications 110 and/or other components ofsystem 100 maintain indices of metadata for data objects, e.g., metadataassociated with individual email messages. The use of metadata toperform classification and other functions is described in greaterdetail below.

Primary storage devices 104 storing primary data 112 may be relativelyfast and/or expensive technology (e.g., flash storage, a disk drive, ahard-disk storage array, solid state memory, etc.), typically to supporthigh-performance live production environments. Primary data 112 may behighly changeable and/or may be intended for relatively short termretention (e.g., hours, days, or weeks). According to some embodiments,client computing device 102 can access primary data 112 stored inprimary storage device 104 by making conventional file system calls viathe operating system. Each client computing device 102 is generallyassociated with and/or in communication with one or more primary storagedevices 104 storing corresponding primary data 112. A client computingdevice 102 is said to be associated with or in communication with aparticular primary storage device 104 if it is capable of one or moreof: routing and/or storing data (e.g., primary data 112) to the primarystorage device 104, coordinating the routing and/or storing of data tothe primary storage device 104, retrieving data from the primary storagedevice 104, coordinating the retrieval of data from the primary storagedevice 104, and modifying and/or deleting data in the primary storagedevice 104. Thus, a client computing device 102 may be said to accessdata stored in an associated storage device 104.

Primary storage device 104 may be dedicated or shared. In some cases,each primary storage device 104 is dedicated to an associated clientcomputing device 102, e.g., a local disk drive. In other cases, one ormore primary storage devices 104 can be shared by multiple clientcomputing devices 102, e.g., via a local network, in a cloud storageimplementation, etc. As one example, primary storage device 104 can be astorage array shared by a group of client computing devices 102, such asEMC Clariion, EMC Symmetrix, EMC Celerra, Dell EqualLogic, IBM XIV,NetApp FAS, HP EVA, and HP 3PAR.

System 100 may also include hosted services (not shown), which may behosted in some cases by an entity other than the organization thatemploys the other components of system 100. For instance, the hostedservices may be provided by online service providers. Such serviceproviders can provide social networking services, hosted email services,or hosted productivity applications or other hosted applications such assoftware-as-a-service (SaaS), platform-as-a-service (PaaS), applicationservice providers (ASPs), cloud services, or other mechanisms fordelivering functionality via a network. As it services users, eachhosted service may generate additional data and metadata, which may bemanaged by system 100, e.g., as primary data 112. In some cases, thehosted services may be accessed using one of the applications 110. As anexample, a hosted mail service may be accessed via browser running on aclient computing device 102.

Secondary Copies and Exemplary Secondary Storage Devices

Primary data 112 stored on primary storage devices 104 may becompromised in some cases, such as when an employee deliberately oraccidentally deletes or overwrites primary data 112. Or primary storagedevices 104 can be damaged, lost, or otherwise corrupted. For recoveryand/or regulatory compliance purposes, it is therefore useful togenerate and maintain copies of primary data 112. Accordingly, system100 includes one or more secondary storage computing devices 106 and oneor more secondary storage devices 108 configured to create and store oneor more secondary copies 116 of primary data 112 including itsassociated metadata. The secondary storage computing devices 106 and thesecondary storage devices 108 may be referred to as secondary storagesubsystem 118.

Secondary copies 116 can help in search and analysis efforts and meetother information management goals as well, such as: restoring dataand/or metadata if an original version is lost (e.g., by deletion,corruption, or disaster); allowing point-in-time recovery; complyingwith regulatory data retention and electronic discovery (e-discovery)requirements; reducing utilized storage capacity in the productionsystem and/or in secondary storage; facilitating organization and searchof data; improving user access to data files across multiple computingdevices and/or hosted services; and implementing data retention andpruning policies.

A secondary copy 116 can comprise a separate stored copy of data that isderived from one or more earlier-created stored copies (e.g., derivedfrom primary data 112 or from another secondary copy 116). Secondarycopies 116 can include point-in-time data, and may be intended forrelatively long-term retention before some or all of the data is movedto other storage or discarded. In some cases, a secondary copy 116 maybe in a different storage device than other previously stored copies;and/or may be remote from other previously stored copies. Secondarycopies 116 can be stored in the same storage device as primary data 112.For example, a disk array capable of performing hardware snapshotsstores primary data 112 and creates and stores hardware snapshots of theprimary data 112 as secondary copies 116. Secondary copies 116 may bestored in relatively slow and/or lower cost storage (e.g., magnetictape). A secondary copy 116 may be stored in a backup or archive format,or in some other format different from the native source applicationformat or other format of primary data 112.

Secondary storage computing devices 106 may index secondary copies 116(e.g., using a media agent 144), enabling users to browse and restore ata later time and further enabling the lifecycle management of theindexed data. After creation of a secondary copy 116 that representscertain primary data 112, a pointer or other location indicia (e.g., astub) may be placed in primary data 112, or be otherwise associated withprimary data 112, to indicate the current location of a particularsecondary copy 116. Since an instance of a data object or metadata inprimary data 112 may change over time as it is modified by application110 (or hosted service or the operating system), system 100 may createand manage multiple secondary copies 116 of a particular data object ormetadata, each copy representing the state of the data object in primarydata 112 at a particular point in time. Moreover, since an instance of adata object in primary data 112 may eventually be deleted from primarystorage device 104 and the file system, system 100 may continue tomanage point-in-time representations of that data object, even thoughthe instance in primary data 112 no longer exists. For virtual machines,the operating system and other applications 110 of client computingdevice(s) 102 may execute within or under the management ofvirtualization software (e.g., a VMM), and the primary storage device(s)104 may comprise a virtual disk created on a physical storage device.System 100 may create secondary copies 116 of the files or other dataobjects in a virtual disk file and/or secondary copies 116 of the entirevirtual disk file itself (e.g., of an entire .vmdk file).

Secondary copies 116 are distinguishable from corresponding primary data112. First, secondary copies 116 can be stored in a different formatfrom primary data 112 (e.g., backup, archive, or other non-nativeformat). For this or other reasons, secondary copies 116 may not bedirectly usable by applications 110 or client computing device 102(e.g., via standard system calls or otherwise) without modification,processing, or other intervention by system 100 which may be referred toas “restore” operations. Secondary copies 116 may have been processed bydata agent 142 and/or media agent 144 in the course of being created(e.g., compression, deduplication, encryption, integrity markers,indexing, formatting, application-aware metadata, etc.), and thussecondary copy 116 may represent source primary data 112 withoutnecessarily being exactly identical to the source.

Second, secondary copies 116 may be stored on a secondary storage device108 that is inaccessible to application 110 running on client computingdevice 102 and/or hosted service. Some secondary copies 116 may be“offline copies,” in that they are not readily available (e.g., notmounted to tape or disk). Offline copies can include copies of data thatsystem 100 can access without human intervention (e.g., tapes within anautomated tape library, but not yet mounted in a drive), and copies thatthe system 100 can access only with some human intervention (e.g., tapeslocated at an offsite storage site).

Using Intermediate Devices for Creating Secondary Copies—SecondaryStorage Computing Devices

Creating secondary copies can be challenging when hundreds or thousandsof client computing devices 102 continually generate large volumes ofprimary data 112 to be protected. Also, there can be significantoverhead involved in the creation of secondary copies 116. Moreover,specialized programmed intelligence and/or hardware capability isgenerally needed for accessing and interacting with secondary storagedevices 108. Client computing devices 102 may interact directly with asecondary storage device 108 to create secondary copies 116, but in viewof the factors described above, this approach can negatively impact theability of client computing device 102 to serve/service application 110and produce primary data 112. Further, any given client computing device102 may not be optimized for interaction with certain secondary storagedevices 108.

Thus, system 100 may include one or more software and/or hardwarecomponents which generally act as intermediaries between clientcomputing devices 102 (that generate primary data 112) and secondarystorage devices 108 (that store secondary copies 116). In addition tooff-loading certain responsibilities from client computing devices 102,these intermediate components provide other benefits. For instance, asdiscussed further below with respect to FIG. 1D, distributing some ofthe work involved in creating secondary copies 116 can enhancescalability and improve system performance. For instance, usingspecialized secondary storage computing devices 106 and media agents 144for interfacing with secondary storage devices 108 and/or for performingcertain data processing operations can greatly improve the speed withwhich system 100 performs information management operations and can alsoimprove the capacity of the system to handle large numbers of suchoperations, while reducing the computational load on the productionenvironment of client computing devices 102. The intermediate componentscan include one or more secondary storage computing devices 106 as shownin FIG. 1A and/or one or more media agents 144. Media agents arediscussed further below (e.g., with respect to FIGS. 1C-1E). Thesespecial-purpose components of system 100 comprise specialized programmedintelligence and/or hardware capability for writing to, reading from,instructing, communicating with, or otherwise interacting with secondarystorage devices 108.

Secondary storage computing device(s) 106 can comprise any of thecomputing devices described above, without limitation. In some cases,secondary storage computing device(s) 106 also include specializedhardware componentry and/or software intelligence (e.g., specializedinterfaces) for interacting with certain secondary storage device(s) 108with which they may be specially associated.

To create a secondary copy 116 involving the copying of data fromprimary storage subsystem 117 to secondary storage subsystem 118, clientcomputing device 102 may communicate the primary data 112 to be copied(or a processed version thereof generated by a data agent 142) to thedesignated secondary storage computing device 106, via a communicationpathway 114. Secondary storage computing device 106 in turn may furtherprocess and convey the data or a processed version thereof to secondarystorage device 108. One or more secondary copies 116 may be created fromexisting secondary copies 116, such as in the case of an auxiliary copyoperation, described further below.

Exemplary Primary Data and an Exemplary Secondary Copy

FIG. 1B is a detailed view of some specific examples of primary datastored on primary storage device(s) 104 and secondary copy data storedon secondary storage device(s) 108, with other components of the systemremoved for the purposes of illustration. Stored on primary storagedevice(s) 104 are primary data 112 objects including word processingdocuments 119A-B, spreadsheets 120, presentation documents 122, videofiles 124, image files 126, email mailboxes 128 (and corresponding emailmessages 129A-C), HTML/XML or other types of markup language files 130,databases 132 and corresponding tables or other data structures133A-133C. Some or all primary data 112 objects are associated withcorresponding metadata (e.g., “Meta1-11”), which may include file systemmetadata and/or application-specific metadata. Stored on the secondarystorage device(s) 108 are secondary copy 116 data objects 134A-C whichmay include copies of or may otherwise represent corresponding primarydata 112.

Secondary copy data objects 134A-C can individually represent more thanone primary data object. For example, secondary copy data object 134Arepresents three separate primary data objects 133C, 122, and 129C(represented as 133C′, 122′, and 129C′, respectively, and accompanied bycorresponding metadata Meta11, Meta3, and Meta8, respectively).Moreover, as indicated by the prime mark (′), secondary storagecomputing devices 106 or other components in secondary storage subsystem118 may process the data received from primary storage subsystem 117 andstore a secondary copy including a transformed and/or supplementedrepresentation of a primary data object and/or metadata that isdifferent from the original format, e.g., in a compressed, encrypted,deduplicated, or other modified format. For instance, secondary storagecomputing devices 106 can generate new metadata or other informationbased on said processing, and store the newly generated informationalong with the secondary copies. Secondary copy data object 1346represents primary data objects 120, 1336, and 119A as 120′, 1336′, and119A′, respectively, accompanied by corresponding metadata Meta2,Meta10, and Meta1, respectively. Also, secondary copy data object 134Crepresents primary data objects 133A, 1196, and 129A as 133A′, 1196′,and 129A′, respectively, accompanied by corresponding metadata Meta9,Meta5, and Meta6, respectively.

Exemplary Information Management System Architecture

System 100 can incorporate a variety of different hardware and softwarecomponents, which can in turn be organized with respect to one anotherin many different configurations, depending on the embodiment. There arecritical design choices involved in specifying the functionalresponsibilities of the components and the role of each component insystem 100. Such design choices can impact how system 100 performs andadapts to data growth and other changing circumstances. FIG. 1C shows asystem 100 designed according to these considerations and includes:storage manager 140, one or more data agents 142 executing on clientcomputing device(s) 102 and configured to process primary data 112, andone or more media agents 144 executing on one or more secondary storagecomputing devices 106 for performing tasks involving secondary storagedevices 108.

Storage Manager

Storage manager 140 is a centralized storage and/or information managerthat is configured to perform certain control functions and also tostore certain critical information about system 100—hence storagemanager 140 is said to manage system 100. As noted, the number ofcomponents in system 100 and the amount of data under management can belarge. Managing the components and data is therefore a significant task,which can grow unpredictably as the number of components and data scaleto meet the needs of the organization. For these and other reasons,according to certain embodiments, responsibility for controlling system100, or at least a significant portion of that responsibility, isallocated to storage manager 140. Storage manager 140 can be adaptedindependently according to changing circumstances, without having toreplace or re-design the remainder of the system. Moreover, a computingdevice for hosting and/or operating as storage manager 140 can beselected to best suit the functions and networking needs of storagemanager 140. These and other advantages are described in further detailbelow and with respect to FIG. 1D.

Storage manager 140 may be a software module or other application hostedby a suitable computing device. In some embodiments, storage manager 140is itself a computing device that performs the functions describedherein. Storage manager 140 comprises or operates in conjunction withone or more associated data structures such as a dedicated database(e.g., management database 146), depending on the configuration. Thestorage manager 140 generally initiates, performs, coordinates, and/orcontrols storage and other information management operations performedby system 100, e.g., to protect and control primary data 112 andsecondary copies 116. In general, storage manager 140 is said to managesystem 100, which includes communicating with, instructing, andcontrolling in some circumstances components such as data agents 142 andmedia agents 144, etc.

As shown by the dashed arrowed lines 114 in FIG. 1C, storage manager 140may communicate with, instruct, and/or control some or all elements ofsystem 100, such as data agents 142 and media agents 144. In thismanner, storage manager 140 manages the operation of various hardwareand software components in system 100. In certain embodiments, controlinformation originates from storage manager 140 and status as well asindex reporting is transmitted to storage manager 140 by the managedcomponents, whereas payload data and metadata are generally communicatedbetween data agents 142 and media agents 144 (or otherwise betweenclient computing device(s) 102 and secondary storage computing device(s)106), e.g., at the direction of and under the management of storagemanager 140. Control information can generally include parameters andinstructions for carrying out information management operations, suchas, without limitation, instructions to perform a task associated withan operation, timing information specifying when to initiate a task,data path information specifying what components to communicate with oraccess in carrying out an operation, and the like. In other embodiments,some information management operations are controlled or initiated byother components of system 100 (e.g., by media agents 144 or data agents142), instead of or in combination with storage manager 140.

According to certain embodiments, storage manager 140 provides one ormore of the following functions:

-   -   communicating with data agents 142 and media agents 144,        including transmitting instructions, messages, and/or queries,        as well as receiving status reports, index information,        messages, and/or queries, and responding to same;    -   initiating execution of information management operations;    -   initiating restore and recovery operations;    -   managing secondary storage devices 108 and inventory/capacity of        the same;    -   allocating secondary storage devices 108 for secondary copy        operations;    -   reporting, searching, and/or classification of data in system        100;    -   monitoring completion of and status reporting related to        information management operations and jobs;    -   tracking movement of data within system 100;    -   tracking age information relating to secondary copies 116,        secondary storage devices 108, comparing the age information        against retention guidelines, and initiating data pruning when        appropriate;    -   tracking logical associations between components in system 100;    -   protecting metadata associated with system 100, e.g., in        management database 146;    -   implementing job management, schedule management, event        management, alert management, reporting, job history        maintenance, user security management, disaster recovery        management, and/or user interfacing for system administrators        and/or end users of system 100;    -   sending, searching, and/or viewing of log files; and    -   implementing operations management functionality.

Storage manager 140 may maintain an associated database 146 (or “storagemanager database 146” or “management database 146”) ofmanagement-related data and information management policies 148.Database 146 is stored in computer memory accessible by storage manager140. Database 146 may include a management index 150 (or “index 150”) orother data structure(s) that may store: logical associations betweencomponents of the system; user preferences and/or profiles (e.g.,preferences regarding encryption, compression, or deduplication ofprimary data or secondary copies; preferences regarding the scheduling,type, or other aspects of secondary copy or other operations; mappingsof particular information management users or user accounts to certaincomputing devices or other components, etc.; management tasks; mediacontainerization; other useful data; and/or any combination thereof. Forexample, storage manager 140 may use index 150 to track logicalassociations between media agents 144 and secondary storage devices 108and/or movement of data to/from secondary storage devices 108. Forinstance, index 150 may store data associating a client computing device102 with a particular media agent 144 and/or secondary storage device108, as specified in an information management policy 148.

Administrators and others may configure and initiate certain informationmanagement operations on an individual basis. But while this may beacceptable for some recovery operations or other infrequent tasks, it isoften not workable for implementing on-going organization-wide dataprotection and management. Thus, system 100 may utilize informationmanagement policies 148 for specifying and executing informationmanagement operations on an automated basis. Generally, an informationmanagement policy 148 can include a stored data structure or otherinformation source that specifies parameters (e.g., criteria and rules)associated with storage management or other information managementoperations. Storage manager 140 can process an information managementpolicy 148 and/or index 150 and, based on the results, identify aninformation management operation to perform, identify the appropriatecomponents in system 100 to be involved in the operation (e.g., clientcomputing devices 102 and corresponding data agents 142, secondarystorage computing devices 106 and corresponding media agents 144, etc.),establish connections to those components and/or between thosecomponents, and/or instruct and control those components to carry outthe operation. In this manner, system 100 can translate storedinformation into coordinated activity among the various computingdevices in system 100.

Management database 146 may maintain information management policies 148and associated data, although information management policies 148 can bestored in computer memory at any appropriate location outside managementdatabase 146. For instance, an information management policy 148 such asa storage policy may be stored as metadata in a media agent database 152or in a secondary storage device 108 (e.g., as an archive copy) for usein restore or other information management operations, depending on theembodiment. Information management policies 148 are described furtherbelow. According to certain embodiments, management database 146comprises a relational database (e.g., an SQL database) for trackingmetadata, such as metadata associated with secondary copy operations(e.g., what client computing devices 102 and corresponding subclientdata were protected and where the secondary copies are stored and whichmedia agent 144 performed the storage operation(s)). This and othermetadata may additionally be stored in other locations, such as atsecondary storage computing device 106 or on the secondary storagedevice 108, allowing data recovery without the use of storage manager140 in some cases. Thus, management database 146 may comprise dataneeded to kick off secondary copy operations (e.g., storage policies,schedule policies, etc.), status and reporting information aboutcompleted jobs (e.g., status and error reports on yesterday's backupjobs), and additional information sufficient to enable restore anddisaster recovery operations (e.g., media agent associations, locationindexing, content indexing, etc.).

Storage manager 140 may include a jobs agent 156, a user interface 158,and a management agent 154, all of which may be implemented asinterconnected software modules or application programs. These aredescribed further below.

Jobs agent 156 in some embodiments initiates, controls, and/or monitorsthe status of some or all information management operations previouslyperformed, currently being performed, or scheduled to be performed bysystem 100. A job is a logical grouping of information managementoperations such as daily storage operations scheduled for a certain setof subclients (e.g., generating incremental block-level backup copies116 at a certain time every day for database files in a certaingeographical location). Thus, jobs agent 156 may access informationmanagement policies 148 (e.g., in management database 146) to determinewhen, where, and how to initiate/control jobs in system 100.

Storage Manager User Interfaces

User interface 158 may include information processing and displaysoftware, such as a graphical user interface (GUI), an applicationprogram interface (API), and/or other interactive interface(s) throughwhich users and system processes can retrieve information about thestatus of information management operations or issue instructions tostorage manager 140 and other components. Via user interface 158, usersmay issue instructions to the components in system 100 regardingperformance of secondary copy and recovery operations. For example, auser may modify a schedule concerning the number of pending secondarycopy operations. As another example, a user may employ the GUI to viewthe status of pending secondary copy jobs or to monitor the status ofcertain components in system 100 (e.g., the amount of capacity left in astorage device). Storage manager 140 may track information that permitsit to select, designate, or otherwise identify content indices,deduplication databases, or similar databases or resources or data setswithin its information management cell (or another cell) to be searchedin response to certain queries. Such queries may be entered by the userby interacting with user interface 158.

Various embodiments of information management system 100 may beconfigured and/or designed to generate user interface data usable forrendering the various interactive user interfaces described. The userinterface data may be used by system 100 and/or by another system,device, and/or software program (for example, a browser program), torender the interactive user interfaces. The interactive user interfacesmay be displayed on, for example, electronic displays (including, forexample, touch-enabled displays), consoles, etc., whetherdirect-connected to storage manager 140 or communicatively coupledremotely, e.g., via an internet connection. The present disclosuredescribes various embodiments of interactive and dynamic userinterfaces, some of which may be generated by user interface agent 158,and which are the result of significant technological development. Theuser interfaces described herein may provide improved human-computerinteractions, allowing for significant cognitive and ergonomicefficiencies and advantages over previous systems, including reducedmental workloads, improved decision-making, and the like. User interface158 may operate in a single integrated view or console (not shown). Theconsole may support a reporting capability for generating a variety ofreports, which may be tailored to a particular aspect of informationmanagement.

User interfaces are not exclusive to storage manager 140 and in someembodiments a user may access information locally from a computingdevice component of system 100. For example, some information pertainingto installed data agents 142 and associated data streams may beavailable from client computing device 102. Likewise, some informationpertaining to media agents 144 and associated data streams may beavailable from secondary storage computing device 106.

Storage Manager Management Agent

Management agent 154 can provide storage manager 140 with the ability tocommunicate with other components within system 100 and/or with otherinformation management cells via network protocols and applicationprogramming interfaces (APIs) including, e.g., HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, REST,virtualization software APIs, cloud service provider APIs, and hostedservice provider APIs, without limitation. Management agent 154 alsoallows multiple information management cells to communicate with oneanother. For example, system 100 in some cases may be one informationmanagement cell in a network of multiple cells adjacent to one anotheror otherwise logically related, e.g., in a WAN or LAN. With thisarrangement, the cells may communicate with one another throughrespective management agents 154. Inter-cell communications andhierarchy is described in greater detail in e.g., U.S. Pat. No.7,343,453.

Information Management Cell

An “information management cell” (or “storage operation cell” or “cell”)may generally include a logical and/or physical grouping of acombination of hardware and software components associated withperforming information management operations on electronic data,typically one storage manager 140 and at least one data agent 142(executing on a client computing device 102) and at least one mediaagent 144 (executing on a secondary storage computing device 106). Forinstance, the components shown in FIG. 1C may together form aninformation management cell. Thus, in some configurations, a system 100may be referred to as an information management cell or a storageoperation cell. A given cell may be identified by the identity of itsstorage manager 140, which is generally responsible for managing thecell.

Multiple cells may be organized hierarchically, so that cells mayinherit properties from hierarchically superior cells or be controlledby other cells in the hierarchy (automatically or otherwise).Alternatively, in some embodiments, cells may inherit or otherwise beassociated with information management policies, preferences,information management operational parameters, or other properties orcharacteristics according to their relative position in a hierarchy ofcells. Cells may also be organized hierarchically according to function,geography, architectural considerations, or other factors useful ordesirable in performing information management operations. For example,a first cell may represent a geographic segment of an enterprise, suchas a Chicago office, and a second cell may represent a differentgeographic segment, such as a New York City office. Other cells mayrepresent departments within a particular office, e.g., human resources,finance, engineering, etc. Where delineated by function, a first cellmay perform one or more first types of information management operations(e.g., one or more first types of secondary copies at a certainfrequency), and a second cell may perform one or more second types ofinformation management operations (e.g., one or more second types ofsecondary copies at a different frequency and under different retentionrules). In general, the hierarchical information is maintained by one ormore storage managers 140 that manage the respective cells (e.g., incorresponding management database(s) 146).

Data Agents

A variety of different applications 110 can operate on a given clientcomputing device 102, including operating systems, file systems,database applications, e-mail applications, and virtual machines, justto name a few. And, as part of the process of creating and restoringsecondary copies 116, the client computing device 102 may be tasked withprocessing and preparing the primary data 112 generated by these variousapplications 110. Moreover, the nature of the processing/preparation candiffer across application types, e.g., due to inherent structural,state, and formatting differences among applications 110 and/or theoperating system of client computing device 102. Each data agent 142 istherefore advantageously configured in some embodiments to assist in theperformance of information management operations based on the type ofdata that is being protected at a client-specific and/orapplication-specific level.

Data agent 142 is a component of information system 100 and is generallydirected by storage manager 140 to participate in creating or restoringsecondary copies 116. Data agent 142 may be a software program (e.g., inthe form of a set of executable binary files) that executes on the sameclient computing device 102 as the associated application 110 that dataagent 142 is configured to protect. Data agent 142 is generallyresponsible for managing, initiating, or otherwise assisting in theperformance of information management operations in reference to itsassociated application(s) 110 and corresponding primary data 112 whichis generated/accessed by the particular application(s) 110. Forinstance, data agent 142 may take part in copying, archiving, migrating,and/or replicating of certain primary data 112 stored in the primarystorage device(s) 104. Data agent 142 may receive control informationfrom storage manager 140, such as commands to transfer copies of dataobjects and/or metadata to one or more media agents 144. Data agent 142also may compress, deduplicate, and encrypt certain primary data 112, aswell as capture application-related metadata before transmitting theprocessed data to media agent 144. Data agent 142 also may receiveinstructions from storage manager 140 to restore (or assist inrestoring) a secondary copy 116 from secondary storage device 108 toprimary storage 104, such that the restored data may be properlyaccessed by application 110 in a suitable format as though it wereprimary data 112.

Each data agent 142 may be specialized for a particular application 110.For instance, different individual data agents 142 may be designed tohandle Microsoft Exchange data, Lotus Notes data, Microsoft Windows filesystem data, Microsoft Active Directory Objects data, SQL Server data,SharePoint data, Oracle database data, SAP database data, virtualmachines and/or associated data, and other types of data. A file systemdata agent, for example, may handle data files and/or other file systeminformation. If a client computing device 102 has two or more types ofdata 112, a specialized data agent 142 may be used for each data type.For example, to backup, migrate, and/or restore all of the data on aMicrosoft Exchange server, the client computing device 102 may use: (1)a Microsoft Exchange Mailbox data agent 142 to back up the Exchangemailboxes; (2) a Microsoft Exchange Database data agent 142 to back upthe Exchange databases; (3) a Microsoft Exchange Public Folder dataagent 142 to back up the Exchange Public Folders; and (4) a MicrosoftWindows File System data agent 142 to back up the file system of clientcomputing device 102. In this example, these specialized data agents 142are treated as four separate data agents 142 even though they operate onthe same client computing device 102. Other examples may include archivemanagement data agents such as a migration archiver or a compliancearchiver, Quick Recovery® agents, and continuous data replicationagents. Application-specific data agents 142 can provide improvedperformance as compared to generic agents. For instance, becauseapplication-specific data agents 142 may only handle data for a singlesoftware application, the design, operation, and performance of the dataagent 142 can be streamlined. The data agent 142 may therefore executefaster and consume less persistent storage and/or operating memory thandata agents designed to generically accommodate multiple differentsoftware applications 110.

Each data agent 142 may be configured to access data and/or metadatastored in the primary storage device(s) 104 associated with data agent142 and its host client computing device 102, and process the dataappropriately. For example, during a secondary copy operation, dataagent 142 may arrange or assemble the data and metadata into one or morefiles having a certain format (e.g., a particular backup or archiveformat) before transferring the file(s) to a media agent 144 or othercomponent. The file(s) may include a list of files or other metadata. Insome embodiments, a data agent 142 may be distributed between clientcomputing device 102 and storage manager 140 (and any other intermediatecomponents) or may be deployed from a remote location or its functionsapproximated by a remote process that performs some or all of thefunctions of data agent 142. In addition, a data agent 142 may performsome functions provided by media agent 144. Other embodiments may employone or more generic data agents 142 that can handle and process datafrom two or more different applications 110, or that can handle andprocess multiple data types, instead of or in addition to usingspecialized data agents 142. For example, one generic data agent 142 maybe used to back up, migrate and restore Microsoft Exchange Mailbox dataand Microsoft Exchange Database data, while another generic data agentmay handle Microsoft Exchange Public Folder data and Microsoft WindowsFile System data.

Media Agents

As noted, off-loading certain responsibilities from client computingdevices 102 to intermediate components such as secondary storagecomputing device(s) 106 and corresponding media agent(s) 144 can providea number of benefits including improved performance of client computingdevice 102, faster and more reliable information management operations,and enhanced scalability. In one example which will be discussed furtherbelow, media agent 144 can act as a local cache of recently-copied dataand/or metadata stored to secondary storage device(s) 108, thusimproving restore capabilities and performance for the cached data.

Media agent 144 is a component of system 100 and is generally directedby storage manager 140 in creating and restoring secondary copies 116.Whereas storage manager 140 generally manages system 100 as a whole,media agent 144 provides a portal to certain secondary storage devices108, such as by having specialized features for communicating with andaccessing certain associated secondary storage device 108. Media agent144 may be a software program (e.g., in the form of a set of executablebinary files) that executes on a secondary storage computing device 106.Media agent 144 generally manages, coordinates, and facilitates thetransmission of data between a data agent 142 (executing on clientcomputing device 102) and secondary storage device(s) 108 associatedwith media agent 144. For instance, other components in the system mayinteract with media agent 144 to gain access to data stored onassociated secondary storage device(s) 108, (e.g., to browse, read,write, modify, delete, or restore data). Moreover, media agents 144 cangenerate and store information relating to characteristics of the storeddata and/or metadata, or can generate and store other types ofinformation that generally provides insight into the contents of thesecondary storage devices 108—generally referred to as indexing of thestored secondary copies 116. Each media agent 144 may operate on adedicated secondary storage computing device 106, while in otherembodiments a plurality of media agents 144 may operate on the samesecondary storage computing device 106.

A media agent 144 may be associated with a particular secondary storagedevice 108 if that media agent 144 is capable of one or more of: routingand/or storing data to the particular secondary storage device 108;coordinating the routing and/or storing of data to the particularsecondary storage device 108; retrieving data from the particularsecondary storage device 108; coordinating the retrieval of data fromthe particular secondary storage device 108; and modifying and/ordeleting data retrieved from the particular secondary storage device108. Media agent 144 in certain embodiments is physically separate fromthe associated secondary storage device 108. For instance, a media agent144 may operate on a secondary storage computing device 106 in adistinct housing, package, and/or location from the associated secondarystorage device 108. In one example, a media agent 144 operates on afirst server computer and is in communication with a secondary storagedevice(s) 108 operating in a separate rack-mounted RAID-based system.

A media agent 144 associated with a particular secondary storage device108 may instruct secondary storage device 108 to perform an informationmanagement task. For instance, a media agent 144 may instruct a tapelibrary to use a robotic arm or other retrieval means to load or eject acertain storage media, and to subsequently archive, migrate, or retrievedata to or from that media, e.g., for the purpose of restoring data to aclient computing device 102. As another example, a secondary storagedevice 108 may include an array of hard disk drives or solid statedrives organized in a RAID configuration, and media agent 144 mayforward a logical unit number (LUN) and other appropriate information tothe array, which uses the received information to execute the desiredsecondary copy operation. Media agent 144 may communicate with asecondary storage device 108 via a suitable communications link, such asa SCSI or Fibre Channel link.

Each media agent 144 may maintain an associated media agent database152. Media agent database 152 may be stored to a disk or other storagedevice (not shown) that is local to the secondary storage computingdevice 106 on which media agent 144 executes. In other cases, mediaagent database 152 is stored separately from the host secondary storagecomputing device 106. Media agent database 152 can include, among otherthings, a media agent index 153 (see, e.g., FIG. 1C). In some cases,media agent index 153 does not form a part of and is instead separatefrom media agent database 152.

Media agent index 153 (or “index 153”) may be a data structureassociated with the particular media agent 144 that includes informationabout the stored data associated with the particular media agent andwhich may be generated in the course of performing a secondary copyoperation or a restore. Index 153 provides a fast and efficientmechanism for locating/browsing secondary copies 116 or other datastored in secondary storage devices 108 without having to accesssecondary storage device 108 to retrieve the information from there. Forinstance, for each secondary copy 116, index 153 may include metadatasuch as a list of the data objects (e.g., files/subdirectories, databaseobjects, mailbox objects, etc.), a logical path to the secondary copy116 on the corresponding secondary storage device 108, locationinformation (e.g., offsets) indicating where the data objects are storedin the secondary storage device 108, when the data objects were createdor modified, etc. Thus, index 153 includes metadata associated with thesecondary copies 116 that is readily available for use from media agent144. In some embodiments, some or all of the information in index 153may instead or additionally be stored along with secondary copies 116 insecondary storage device 108. In some embodiments, a secondary storagedevice 108 can include sufficient information to enable a “bare metalrestore,” where the operating system and/or software applications of afailed client computing device 102 or another target may beautomatically restored without manually reinstalling individual softwarepackages (including operating systems).

Because index 153 may operate as a cache, it can also be referred to asan “index cache.” In such cases, information stored in index cache 153typically comprises data that reflects certain particulars aboutrelatively recent secondary copy operations. After some triggeringevent, such as after some time elapses or index cache 153 reaches aparticular size, certain portions of index cache 153 may be copied ormigrated to secondary storage device 108, e.g., on a least-recently-usedbasis. This information may be retrieved and uploaded back into indexcache 153 or otherwise restored to media agent 144 to facilitateretrieval of data from the secondary storage device(s) 108. In someembodiments, the cached information may include format orcontainerization information related to archives or other files storedon storage device(s) 108.

In some alternative embodiments media agent 144 generally acts as acoordinator or facilitator of secondary copy operations between clientcomputing devices 102 and secondary storage devices 108, but does notactually write the data to secondary storage device 108. For instance,storage manager 140 (or media agent 144) may instruct a client computingdevice 102 and secondary storage device 108 to communicate with oneanother directly. In such a case, client computing device 102 transmitsdata directly or via one or more intermediary components to secondarystorage device 108 according to the received instructions, and viceversa. Media agent 144 may still receive, process, and/or maintainmetadata related to the secondary copy operations, i.e., may continue tobuild and maintain index 153. In these embodiments, payload data canflow through media agent 144 for the purposes of populating index 153,but not for writing to secondary storage device 108. Media agent 144and/or other components such as storage manager 140 may in some casesincorporate additional functionality, such as data classification,content indexing, deduplication, encryption, compression, and the like.Further details regarding these and other functions are described below.

Distributed, Scalable Architecture

As described, certain functions of system 100 can be distributed amongstvarious physical and/or logical components. For instance, one or more ofstorage manager 140, data agents 142, and media agents 144 may operateon computing devices that are physically separate from one another. Thisarchitecture can provide a number of benefits. For instance, hardwareand software design choices for each distributed component can betargeted to suit its particular function. The secondary computingdevices 106 on which media agents 144 operate can be tailored forinteraction with associated secondary storage devices 108 and providefast index cache operation, among other specific tasks. Similarly,client computing device(s) 102 can be selected to effectively serviceapplications 110 in order to efficiently produce and store primary data112.

Moreover, in some cases, one or more of the individual components ofinformation management system 100 can be distributed to multipleseparate computing devices. As one example, for large file systems wherethe amount of data stored in management database 146 is relativelylarge, database 146 may be migrated to or may otherwise reside on aspecialized database server (e.g., an SQL server) separate from a serverthat implements the other functions of storage manager 140. Thisdistributed configuration can provide added protection because database146 can be protected with standard database utilities (e.g., SQL logshipping or database replication) independent from other functions ofstorage manager 140. Database 146 can be efficiently replicated to aremote site for use in the event of a disaster or other data loss at theprimary site. Or database 146 can be replicated to another computingdevice within the same site, such as to a higher performance machine inthe event that a storage manager host computing device can no longerservice the needs of a growing system 100.

The distributed architecture also provides scalability and efficientcomponent utilization. FIG. 1D shows an embodiment of informationmanagement system 100 including a plurality of client computing devices102 and associated data agents 142 as well as a plurality of secondarystorage computing devices 106 and associated media agents 144.Additional components can be added or subtracted based on the evolvingneeds of system 100. For instance, depending on where bottlenecks areidentified, administrators can add additional client computing devices102, secondary storage computing devices 106, and/or secondary storagedevices 108. Moreover, where multiple fungible components are available,load balancing can be implemented to dynamically address identifiedbottlenecks. As an example, storage manager 140 may dynamically selectwhich media agents 144 and/or secondary storage devices 108 to use forstorage operations based on a processing load analysis of media agents144 and/or secondary storage devices 108, respectively.

Where system 100 includes multiple media agents 144 (see, e.g., FIG.1D), a first media agent 144 may provide failover functionality for asecond failed media agent 144. In addition, media agents 144 can bedynamically selected to provide load balancing. Each client computingdevice 102 can communicate with, among other components, any of themedia agents 144, e.g., as directed by storage manager 140. And eachmedia agent 144 may communicate with, among other components, any ofsecondary storage devices 108, e.g., as directed by storage manager 140.Thus, operations can be routed to secondary storage devices 108 in adynamic and highly flexible manner, to provide load balancing, failover,etc. Further examples of scalable systems capable of dynamic storageoperations, load balancing, and failover are provided in U.S. Pat. No.7,246,207.

While distributing functionality amongst multiple computing devices canhave certain advantages, in other contexts it can be beneficial toconsolidate functionality on the same computing device. In alternativeconfigurations, certain components may reside and execute on the samecomputing device. As such, in other embodiments, one or more of thecomponents shown in FIG. 1C may be implemented on the same computingdevice. In one configuration, a storage manager 140, one or more dataagents 142, and/or one or more media agents 144 are all implemented onthe same computing device. In other embodiments, one or more data agents142 and one or more media agents 144 are implemented on the samecomputing device, while storage manager 140 is implemented on a separatecomputing device, etc. without limitation.

Exemplary Types of Information Management Operations, Including StorageOperations

In order to protect and leverage stored data, system 100 can beconfigured to perform a variety of information management operations,which may also be referred to in some cases as storage managementoperations or storage operations. These operations can generally include(i) data movement operations, (ii) processing and data manipulationoperations, and (iii) analysis, reporting, and management operations.

Data Movement Operations, Including Secondary Copy Operations

Data movement operations are generally storage operations that involvethe copying or migration of data between different locations in system100. For example, data movement operations can include operations inwhich stored data is copied, migrated, or otherwise transferred from oneor more first storage devices to one or more second storage devices,such as from primary storage device(s) 104 to secondary storagedevice(s) 108, from secondary storage device(s) 108 to differentsecondary storage device(s) 108, from secondary storage devices 108 toprimary storage devices 104, or from primary storage device(s) 104 todifferent primary storage device(s) 104, or in some cases within thesame primary storage device 104 such as within a storage array.

Data movement operations can include by way of example, backupoperations, archive operations, information lifecycle managementoperations such as hierarchical storage management operations,replication operations (e.g., continuous data replication), snapshotoperations, deduplication or single-instancing operations, auxiliarycopy operations, disaster-recovery copy operations, and the like. Aswill be discussed, some of these operations do not necessarily createdistinct copies. Nonetheless, some or all of these operations aregenerally referred to as “secondary copy operations” for simplicitybecause they involve secondary copies. Data movement also comprisesrestoring secondary copies.

Backup Operations

A backup operation creates a copy of a version of primary data 112 at aparticular point in time (e.g., one or more files or other data units).Each subsequent backup copy 116 (which is a form of secondary copy 116)may be maintained independently of the first. A backup generallyinvolves maintaining a version of the copied primary data 112 as well asbackup copies 116. Further, a backup copy in some embodiments isgenerally stored in a form that is different from the native format,e.g., a backup format. This contrasts to the version in primary data 112which may instead be stored in a format native to the sourceapplication(s) 110. In various cases, backup copies can be stored in aformat in which the data is compressed, encrypted, deduplicated, and/orotherwise modified from the original native application format. Forexample, a backup copy may be stored in a compressed backup format thatfacilitates efficient long-term storage. Backup copies 116 can haverelatively long retention periods as compared to primary data 112, whichis generally highly changeable. Backup copies 116 may be stored on mediawith slower retrieval times than primary storage device 104. Some backupcopies may have shorter retention periods than some other types ofsecondary copies 116, such as archive copies (described below). Backupsmay be stored at an offsite location.

Backup operations can include full backups, differential backups,incremental backups, “synthetic full” backups, and/or creating a“reference copy.” A full backup (or “standard full backup”) in someembodiments is generally a complete image of the data to be protected.However, because full backup copies can consume a relatively largeamount of storage, it can be useful to use a full backup copy as abaseline and only store changes relative to the full backup copyafterwards.

A differential backup operation (or cumulative incremental backupoperation) tracks and stores changes that occurred since the last fullbackup. Differential backups can grow quickly in size, but can restorerelatively efficiently because a restore can be completed in some casesusing only the full backup copy and the latest differential copy.

An incremental backup operation generally tracks and stores changessince the most recent backup copy of any type, which can greatly reducestorage utilization. In some cases, however, restoring can be lengthycompared to full or differential backups because completing a restoreoperation may involve accessing a full backup in addition to multipleincremental backups.

Synthetic full backups generally consolidate data without directlybacking up data from the client computing device. A synthetic fullbackup is created from the most recent full backup (i.e., standard orsynthetic) and subsequent incremental and/or differential backups. Theresulting synthetic full backup is identical to what would have beencreated had the last backup for the subclient been a standard fullbackup. Unlike standard full, incremental, and differential backups,however, a synthetic full backup does not actually transfer data fromprimary storage to the backup media, because it operates as a backupconsolidator. A synthetic full backup extracts the index data of eachparticipating subclient. Using this index data and the previously backedup user data images, it builds new full backup images (e.g., bitmaps),one for each subclient. The new backup images consolidate the index anduser data stored in the related incremental, differential, and previousfull backups into a synthetic backup file that fully represents thesubclient (e.g., via pointers) but does not comprise all its constituentdata.

Any of the above types of backup operations can be at the volume level,file level, or block level. Volume level backup operations generallyinvolve copying of a data volume (e.g., a logical disk or partition) asa whole. In a file-level backup, information management system 100generally tracks changes to individual files and includes copies offiles in the backup copy. For block-level backups, files are broken intoconstituent blocks, and changes are tracked at the block level. Uponrestore, system 100 reassembles the blocks into files in a transparentfashion. Far less data may actually be transferred and copied tosecondary storage devices 108 during a file-level copy than avolume-level copy. Likewise, a block-level copy may transfer less datathan a file-level copy, resulting in faster execution. However,restoring a relatively higher-granularity copy can result in longerrestore times. For instance, when restoring a block-level copy, theprocess of locating and retrieving constituent blocks can sometimes takelonger than restoring file-level backups.

A reference copy may comprise copy(ies) of selected objects from backedup data, typically to help organize data by keeping contextualinformation from multiple sources together, and/or help retain specificdata for a longer period of time, such as for legal hold needs. Areference copy generally maintains data integrity, and when the data isrestored, it may be viewed in the same format as the source data. Insome embodiments, a reference copy is based on a specialized client,individual subclient and associated information management policies(e.g., storage policy, retention policy, etc.) that are administeredwithin system 100.

Archive Operations

Because backup operations generally involve maintaining a version of thecopied primary data 112 and also maintaining backup copies in secondarystorage device(s) 108, they can consume significant storage capacity. Toreduce storage consumption, an archive operation according to certainembodiments creates an archive copy 116 by both copying and removingsource data. Or, seen another way, archive operations can involve movingsome or all of the source data to the archive destination. Thus, datasatisfying criteria for removal (e.g., data of a threshold age or size)may be removed from source storage. The source data may be primary data112 or a secondary copy 116, depending on the situation. As with backupcopies, archive copies can be stored in a format in which the data iscompressed, encrypted, deduplicated, and/or otherwise modified from theformat of the original application or source copy. In addition, archivecopies may be retained for relatively long periods of time (e.g., years)and, in some cases are never deleted. In certain embodiments, archivecopies may be made and kept for extended periods in order to meetcompliance regulations.

Archiving can also serve the purpose of freeing up space in primarystorage device(s) 104 and easing the demand on computational resourceson client computing device 102. Similarly, when a secondary copy 116 isarchived, the archive copy can therefore serve the purpose of freeing upspace in the source secondary storage device(s) 108. Examples of dataarchiving operations are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,107,298.

Snapshot Operations

Snapshot operations can provide a relatively lightweight, efficientmechanism for protecting data. From an end-user viewpoint, a snapshotmay be thought of as an “instant” image of primary data 112 at a givenpoint in time, and may include state and/or status information relativeto an application 110 that creates/manages primary data 112. In oneembodiment, a snapshot may generally capture the directory structure ofan object in primary data 112 such as a file or volume or other data setat a particular moment in time and may also preserve file attributes andcontents. A snapshot in some cases is created relatively quickly, e.g.,substantially instantly, using a minimum amount of file space, but maystill function as a conventional file system backup.

A “hardware snapshot” (or “hardware-based snapshot”) operation occurswhere a target storage device (e.g., a primary storage device 104 or asecondary storage device 108) performs the snapshot operation in aself-contained fashion, substantially independently, using hardware,firmware and/or software operating on the storage device itself. Forinstance, the storage device may perform snapshot operations generallywithout intervention or oversight from any of the other components ofthe system 100, e.g., a storage array may generate an “array-created”hardware snapshot and may also manage its storage, integrity,versioning, etc. In this manner, hardware snapshots can off-load othercomponents of system 100 from snapshot processing. An array may receivea request from another component to take a snapshot and then proceed toexecute the “hardware snapshot” operations autonomously, preferablyreporting success to the requesting component.

A “software snapshot” (or “software-based snapshot”) operation, on theother hand, occurs where a component in system 100 (e.g., clientcomputing device 102, etc.) implements a software layer that manages thesnapshot operation via interaction with the target storage device. Forinstance, the component executing the snapshot management software layermay derive a set of pointers and/or data that represents the snapshot.The snapshot management software layer may then transmit the same to thetarget storage device, along with appropriate instructions for writingthe snapshot. One example of a software snapshot product is MicrosoftVolume Snapshot Service (VSS), which is part of the Microsoft Windowsoperating system.

Some types of snapshots do not actually create another physical copy ofall the data as it existed at the particular point in time, but maysimply create pointers that map files and directories to specific memorylocations (e.g., to specific disk blocks) where the data resides as itexisted at the particular point in time. For example, a snapshot copymay include a set of pointers derived from the file system or from anapplication. In some other cases, the snapshot may be created at theblock-level, such that creation of the snapshot occurs without awarenessof the file system. Each pointer points to a respective stored datablock, so that collectively, the set of pointers reflect the storagelocation and state of the data object (e.g., file(s) or volume(s) ordata set(s)) at the point in time when the snapshot copy was created.

An initial snapshot may use only a small amount of disk space needed torecord a mapping or other data structure representing or otherwisetracking the blocks that correspond to the current state of the filesystem. Additional disk space is usually required only when files anddirectories change later on. Furthermore, when files change, typicallyonly the pointers which map to blocks are copied, not the blocksthemselves. For example for “copy-on-write” snapshots, when a blockchanges in primary storage, the block is copied to secondary storage orcached in primary storage before the block is overwritten in primarystorage, and the pointer to that block is changed to reflect the newlocation of that block. The snapshot mapping of file system data mayalso be updated to reflect the changed block(s) at that particular pointin time. In some other cases, a snapshot includes a full physical copyof all or substantially all of the data represented by the snapshot.Further examples of snapshot operations are provided in U.S. Pat. No.7,529,782. A snapshot copy in many cases can be made quickly and withoutsignificantly impacting primary computing resources because largeamounts of data need not be copied or moved. In some embodiments, asnapshot may exist as a virtual file system, parallel to the actual filesystem. Users in some cases gain read-only access to the record of filesand directories of the snapshot. By electing to restore primary data 112from a snapshot taken at a given point in time, users may also returnthe current file system to the state of the file system that existedwhen the snapshot was taken.

Replication Operations

Replication is another type of secondary copy operation. Some types ofsecondary copies 116 periodically capture images of primary data 112 atparticular points in time (e.g., backups, archives, and snapshots).However, it can also be useful for recovery purposes to protect primarydata 112 in a more continuous fashion, by replicating primary data 112substantially as changes occur. In some cases a replication copy can bea mirror copy, for instance, where changes made to primary data 112 aremirrored or substantially immediately copied to another location (e.g.,to secondary storage device(s) 108). By copying each write operation tothe replication copy, two storage systems are kept synchronized orsubstantially synchronized so that they are virtually identical atapproximately the same time. Where entire disk volumes are mirrored,however, mirroring can require significant amount of storage space andutilizes a large amount of processing resources.

According to some embodiments, secondary copy operations are performedon replicated data that represents a recoverable state, or “known goodstate” of a particular application running on the source system. Forinstance, in certain embodiments, known good replication copies may beviewed as copies of primary data 112. This feature allows the system todirectly access, copy, restore, back up, or otherwise manipulate thereplication copies as if they were the “live” primary data 112. This canreduce access time, storage utilization, and impact on sourceapplications 110, among other benefits. Based on known good stateinformation, system 100 can replicate sections of application data thatrepresent a recoverable state rather than rote copying of blocks ofdata. Examples of replication operations (e.g., continuous datareplication) are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,617,262.

Deduplication/Single-Instancing Operations

Deduplication or single-instance storage is useful to reduce the amountof non-primary data. For instance, some or all of the above-describedsecondary copy operations can involve deduplication in some fashion. Newdata is read, broken down into data portions of a selected granularity(e.g., sub-file level blocks, files, etc.), compared with correspondingportions that are already in secondary storage, and only new/changedportions are stored. Portions that already exist are represented aspointers to the already-stored data. Thus, a deduplicated secondary copy116 may comprise actual data portions copied from primary data 112 andmay further comprise pointers to already-stored data, which is generallymore storage-efficient than a full copy.

In order to streamline the comparison process, system 100 may calculateand/or store signatures (e.g., hashes or cryptographically unique IDs)corresponding to the individual source data portions and compare thesignatures to already-stored data signatures, instead of comparingentire data portions. In some cases, only a single instance of each dataportion is stored, and deduplication operations may therefore bereferred to interchangeably as “single-instancing” operations. Dependingon the implementation, however, deduplication operations can store morethan one instance of certain data portions, yet still significantlyreduce stored-data redundancy. Depending on the embodiment,deduplication portions such as data blocks can be of fixed or variablelength. Using variable length blocks can enhance deduplication byresponding to changes in the data stream, but can involve more complexprocessing. In some cases, system 100 utilizes a technique fordynamically aligning deduplication blocks based on changing content inthe data stream, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,364,652.

System 100 can deduplicate in a variety of manners at a variety oflocations. For instance, in some embodiments, system 100 implements“target-side” deduplication by deduplicating data at the media agent 144after being received from data agent 142. In some such cases, mediaagents 144 are generally configured to manage the deduplication process.For instance, one or more of the media agents 144 maintain acorresponding deduplication database that stores deduplicationinformation (e.g., datablock signatures). Examples of such aconfiguration are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,900. Instead of or incombination with “target-side” deduplication, “source-side” (or“client-side”) deduplication can also be performed, e.g., to reduce theamount of data to be transmitted by data agent 142 to media agent 144.Storage manager 140 may communicate with other components within system100 via network protocols and cloud service provider APIs to facilitatecloud-based deduplication/single instancing, as exemplified in U.S. Pat.No. 8,954,446. Some other deduplication/single instancing techniques aredescribed in U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2006/0224846 and in U.S. Pat. No.9,098,495.

Information Lifecycle Management and Hierarchical Storage Management

In some embodiments, files and other data over their lifetime move frommore expensive quick-access storage to less expensive slower-accessstorage. Operations associated with moving data through various tiers ofstorage are sometimes referred to as information lifecycle management(ILM) operations.

One type of ILM operation is a hierarchical storage management (HSM)operation, which generally automatically moves data between classes ofstorage devices, such as from high-cost to low-cost storage devices. Forinstance, an HSM operation may involve movement of data from primarystorage devices 104 to secondary storage devices 108, or between tiersof secondary storage devices 108. With each tier, the storage devicesmay be progressively cheaper, have relatively slower access/restoretimes, etc. For example, movement of data between tiers may occur asdata becomes less important over time. In some embodiments, an HSMoperation is similar to archiving in that creating an HSM copy may(though not always) involve deleting some of the source data, e.g.,according to one or more criteria related to the source data. Forexample, an HSM copy may include primary data 112 or a secondary copy116 that exceeds a given size threshold or a given age threshold. Often,and unlike some types of archive copies, HSM data that is removed oraged from the source is replaced by a logical reference pointer or stub.The reference pointer or stub can be stored in the primary storagedevice 104 or other source storage device, such as a secondary storagedevice 108 to replace the deleted source data and to point to orotherwise indicate the new location in (another) secondary storagedevice 108.

For example, files are generally moved between higher and lower coststorage depending on how often the files are accessed. When a userrequests access to HSM data that has been removed or migrated, system100 uses the stub to locate the data and may make recovery of the dataappear transparent, even though the HSM data may be stored at a locationdifferent from other source data. In this manner, the data appears tothe user (e.g., in file system browsing windows and the like) as if itstill resides in the source location (e.g., in a primary storage device104). The stub may include metadata associated with the correspondingdata, so that a file system and/or application can provide someinformation about the data object and/or a limited-functionality version(e.g., a preview) of the data object.

An HSM copy may be stored in a format other than the native applicationformat (e.g., compressed, encrypted, deduplicated, and/or otherwisemodified). In some cases, copies which involve the removal of data fromsource storage and the maintenance of stub or other logical referenceinformation on source storage may be referred to generally as “onlinearchive copies.” On the other hand, copies which involve the removal ofdata from source storage without the maintenance of stub or otherlogical reference information on source storage may be referred to as“off-line archive copies.” Examples of HSM and ILM techniques areprovided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

Auxiliary Copy Operations

An auxiliary copy is generally a copy of an existing secondary copy 116.For instance, an initial secondary copy 116 may be derived from primarydata 112 or from data residing in secondary storage subsystem 118,whereas an auxiliary copy is generated from the initial secondary copy116. Auxiliary copies provide additional standby copies of data and mayreside on different secondary storage devices 108 than the initialsecondary copies 116. Thus, auxiliary copies can be used for recoverypurposes if initial secondary copies 116 become unavailable. Exemplaryauxiliary copy techniques are described in further detail in U.S. Pat.No. 8,230,195.

Disaster-Recovery Copy Operations

System 100 may also make and retain disaster recovery copies, often assecondary, high-availability disk copies. System 100 may createsecondary copies and store them at disaster recovery locations usingauxiliary copy or replication operations, such as continuous datareplication technologies. Depending on the particular data protectiongoals, disaster recovery locations can be remote from the clientcomputing devices 102 and primary storage devices 104, remote from someor all of the secondary storage devices 108, or both.

Data Manipulation, Including Encryption and Compression

Data manipulation and processing may include encryption and compressionas well as integrity marking and checking, formatting for transmission,formatting for storage, etc. Data may be manipulated “client-side” bydata agent 142 as well as “target-side” by media agent 144 in the courseof creating secondary copy 116, or conversely in the course of restoringdata from secondary to primary.

Encryption Operations

System 100 in some cases is configured to process data (e.g., files orother data objects, primary data 112, secondary copies 116, etc.),according to an appropriate encryption algorithm (e.g., Blowfish,Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Triple Data Encryption Standard(3-DES), etc.) to limit access and provide data security. System 100 insome cases encrypts the data at the client level, such that clientcomputing devices 102 (e.g., data agents 142) encrypt the data prior totransferring it to other components, e.g., before sending the data tomedia agents 144 during a secondary copy operation. In such cases,client computing device 102 may maintain or have access to an encryptionkey or passphrase for decrypting the data upon restore. Encryption canalso occur when media agent 144 creates auxiliary copies or archivecopies. Encryption may be applied in creating a secondary copy 116 of apreviously unencrypted secondary copy 116, without limitation. Infurther embodiments, secondary storage devices 108 can implementbuilt-in, high performance hardware-based encryption.

Compression Operations

Similar to encryption, system 100 may also or alternatively compressdata in the course of generating a secondary copy 116. Compressionencodes information such that fewer bits are needed to represent theinformation as compared to the original representation. Compressiontechniques are well known in the art. Compression operations may applyone or more data compression algorithms. Compression may be applied increating a secondary copy 116 of a previously uncompressed secondarycopy, e.g., when making archive copies or disaster recovery copies. Theuse of compression may result in metadata that specifies the nature ofthe compression, so that data may be uncompressed on restore ifappropriate.

Data Analysis, Reporting, and Management Operations

Data analysis, reporting, and management operations can differ from datamovement operations in that they do not necessarily involve copying,migration or other transfer of data between different locations in thesystem. For instance, data analysis operations may involve processing(e.g., offline processing) or modification of already stored primarydata 112 and/or secondary copies 116. However, in some embodiments dataanalysis operations are performed in conjunction with data movementoperations. Some data analysis operations include content indexingoperations and classification operations which can be useful inleveraging data under management to enhance search and other features.

Classification Operations/Content Indexing

In some embodiments, information management system 100 analyzes andindexes characteristics, content, and metadata associated with primarydata 112 (“online content indexing”) and/or secondary copies 116(“off-line content indexing”). Content indexing can identify files orother data objects based on content (e.g., user-defined keywords orphrases, other keywords/phrases that are not defined by a user, etc.),and/or metadata (e.g., email metadata such as “to,” “from,” “cc,” “bcc,”attachment name, received time, etc.). Content indexes may be searchedand search results may be restored.

System 100 generally organizes and catalogues the results into a contentindex, which may be stored within media agent database 152, for example.The content index can also include the storage locations of or pointerreferences to indexed data in primary data 112 and/or secondary copies116. Results may also be stored elsewhere in system 100 (e.g., inprimary storage device 104 or in secondary storage device 108). Suchcontent index data provides storage manager 140 or other components withan efficient mechanism for locating primary data 112 and/or secondarycopies 116 of data objects that match particular criteria, thus greatlyincreasing the search speed capability of system 100. For instance,search criteria can be specified by a user through user interface 158 ofstorage manager 140. Moreover, when system 100 analyzes data and/ormetadata in secondary copies 116 to create an “off-line content index,”this operation has no significant impact on the performance of clientcomputing devices 102 and thus does not take a toll on the productionenvironment. Examples of content indexing techniques are provided inU.S. Pat. No. 8,170,995.

One or more components, such as a content index engine, can beconfigured to scan data and/or associated metadata for classificationpurposes to populate a database (or other data structure) ofinformation, which can be referred to as a “data classificationdatabase” or a “metabase.” Depending on the embodiment, the dataclassification database(s) can be organized in a variety of differentways, including centralization, logical sub-divisions, and/or physicalsub-divisions. For instance, one or more data classification databasesmay be associated with different subsystems or tiers within system 100.As an example, there may be a first metabase associated with primarystorage subsystem 117 and a second metabase associated with secondarystorage subsystem 118. In other cases, metabase(s) may be associatedwith individual components, e.g., client computing devices 102 and/ormedia agents 144. In some embodiments, a data classification databasemay reside as one or more data structures within management database146, may be otherwise associated with storage manager 140, and/or mayreside as a separate component. In some cases, metabase(s) may beincluded in separate database(s) and/or on separate storage device(s)from primary data 112 and/or secondary copies 116, such that operationsrelated to the metabase(s) do not significantly impact performance onother components of system 100. In other cases, metabase(s) may bestored along with primary data 112 and/or secondary copies 116. Files orother data objects can be associated with identifiers (e.g., tagentries, etc.) to facilitate searches of stored data objects. Among anumber of other benefits, the metabase can also allow efficient,automatic identification of files or other data objects to associatewith secondary copy or other information management operations. Forinstance, a metabase can dramatically improve the speed with whichsystem 100 can search through and identify data as compared to otherapproaches that involve scanning an entire file system. Examples ofmetabases and data classification operations are provided in U.S. Pat.Nos. 7,734,669 and 7,747,579.

Management and Reporting Operations

Certain embodiments leverage the integrated ubiquitous nature of system100 to provide useful system-wide management and reporting. Operationsmanagement can generally include monitoring and managing the health andperformance of system 100 by, without limitation, performing errortracking, generating granular storage/performance metrics (e.g., jobsuccess/failure information, deduplication efficiency, etc.), generatingstorage modeling and costing information, and the like. As an example,storage manager 140 or another component in system 100 may analyzetraffic patterns and suggest and/or automatically route data to minimizecongestion. In some embodiments, the system can generate predictionsrelating to storage operations or storage operation information. Suchpredictions, which may be based on a trending analysis, may predictvarious network operations or resource usage, such as network trafficlevels, storage media use, use of bandwidth of communication links, useof media agent components, etc. Further examples of traffic analysis,trend analysis, prediction generation, and the like are described inU.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

In some configurations having a hierarchy of storage operation cells, amaster storage manager 140 may track the status of subordinate cells,such as the status of jobs, system components, system resources, andother items, by communicating with storage managers 140 (or othercomponents) in the respective storage operation cells. Moreover, themaster storage manager 140 may also track status by receiving periodicstatus updates from the storage managers 140 (or other components) inthe respective cells regarding jobs, system components, systemresources, and other items. In some embodiments, a master storagemanager 140 may store status information and other information regardingits associated storage operation cells and other system information inits management database 146 and/or index 150 (or in another location).The master storage manager 140 or other component may also determinewhether certain storage-related or other criteria are satisfied, and mayperform an action or trigger event (e.g., data migration) in response tothe criteria being satisfied, such as where a storage threshold is metfor a particular volume, or where inadequate protection exists forcertain data. For instance, data from one or more storage operationcells is used to mitigate recognized risks dynamically andautomatically, and/or to advise users of risks or suggest actions tomitigate these risks. For example, an information management policy mayspecify certain requirements (e.g., that a storage device shouldmaintain a certain amount of free space, that secondary copies shouldoccur at a particular interval, that data should be aged and migrated toother storage after a particular period, that data on a secondary volumeshould always have a certain level of availability and be restorablewithin a given time period, that data on a secondary volume may bemirrored or otherwise migrated to a specified number of other volumes,etc.). If a risk condition or other criterion is triggered, the systemmay notify the user of these conditions and may suggest (orautomatically implement) a mitigation action to address the risk. Forexample, the system may indicate that data from a primary copy 112should be migrated to a secondary storage device 108 to free up space onprimary storage device 104. Examples of the use of risk factors andother triggering criteria are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

In some embodiments, system 100 may also determine whether a metric orother indication satisfies particular storage criteria sufficient toperform an action. For example, a storage policy or other definitionmight indicate that a storage manager 140 should initiate a particularaction if a storage metric or other indication drops below or otherwisefails to satisfy specified criteria such as a threshold of dataprotection. In some embodiments, risk factors may be quantified intocertain measurable service or risk levels. For example, certainapplications and associated data may be considered to be more importantrelative to other data and services. Financial compliance data, forexample, may be of greater importance than marketing materials, etc.Network administrators may assign priority values or “weights” tocertain data and/or applications corresponding to the relativeimportance. The level of compliance of secondary copy operationsspecified for these applications may also be assigned a certain value.Thus, the health, impact, and overall importance of a service may bedetermined, such as by measuring the compliance value and calculatingthe product of the priority value and the compliance value to determinethe “service level” and comparing it to certain operational thresholdsto determine whether it is acceptable. Further examples of the servicelevel determination are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

System 100 may additionally calculate data costing and data availabilityassociated with information management operation cells. For instance,data received from a cell may be used in conjunction withhardware-related information and other information about system elementsto determine the cost of storage and/or the availability of particulardata. Exemplary information generated could include how fast aparticular department is using up available storage space, how long datawould take to recover over a particular pathway from a particularsecondary storage device, costs over time, etc. Moreover, in someembodiments, such information may be used to determine or predict theoverall cost associated with the storage of certain information. Thecost associated with hosting a certain application may be based, atleast in part, on the type of media on which the data resides, forexample. Storage devices may be assigned to a particular costcategories, for example. Further examples of costing techniques aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

Any of the above types of information (e.g., information related totrending, predictions, job, cell or component status, risk, servicelevel, costing, etc.) can generally be provided to users via userinterface 158 in a single integrated view or console (not shown). Reporttypes may include: scheduling, event management, media management anddata aging. Available reports may also include backup history, dataaging history, auxiliary copy history, job history, library and drive,media in library, restore history, and storage policy, etc., withoutlimitation. Such reports may be specified and created at a certain pointin time as a system analysis, forecasting, or provisioning tool.Integrated reports may also be generated that illustrate storage andperformance metrics, risks and storage costing information. Moreover,users may create their own reports based on specific needs. Userinterface 158 can include an option to graphically depict the variouscomponents in the system using appropriate icons. As one example, userinterface 158 may provide a graphical depiction of primary storagedevices 104, secondary storage devices 108, data agents 142 and/or mediaagents 144, and their relationship to one another in system 100.

In general, the operations management functionality of system 100 canfacilitate planning and decision-making. For example, in someembodiments, a user may view the status of some or all jobs as well asthe status of each component of information management system 100. Usersmay then plan and make decisions based on this data. For instance, auser may view high-level information regarding secondary copy operationsfor system 100, such as job status, component status, resource status(e.g., communication pathways, etc.), and other information. The usermay also drill down or use other means to obtain more detailedinformation regarding a particular component, job, or the like. Furtherexamples are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 7,343,453.

System 100 can also be configured to perform system-wide e-discoveryoperations in some embodiments. In general, e-discovery operationsprovide a unified collection and search capability for data in thesystem, such as data stored in secondary storage devices 108 (e.g.,backups, archives, or other secondary copies 116). For example, system100 may construct and maintain a virtual repository for data stored insystem 100 that is integrated across source applications 110, differentstorage device types, etc. According to some embodiments, e-discoveryutilizes other techniques described herein, such as data classificationand/or content indexing.

Information Management Policies

An information management policy 148 can include a data structure orother information source that specifies a set of parameters (e.g.,criteria and rules) associated with secondary copy and/or otherinformation management operations.

One type of information management policy 148 is a “storage policy.”According to certain embodiments, a storage policy generally comprises adata structure or other information source that defines (or includesinformation sufficient to determine) a set of preferences or othercriteria for performing information management operations. Storagepolicies can include one or more of the following: (1) what data will beassociated with the storage policy, e.g., subclient; (2) a destinationto which the data will be stored; (3) datapath information specifyinghow the data will be communicated to the destination; (4) the type ofsecondary copy operation to be performed; and (5) retention informationspecifying how long the data will be retained at the destination (see,e.g., FIG. 1E). Data associated with a storage policy can be logicallyorganized into subclients, which may represent primary data 112 and/orsecondary copies 116. A subclient may represent static or dynamicassociations of portions of a data volume. Subclients may representmutually exclusive portions. Thus, in certain embodiments, a portion ofdata may be given a label and the association is stored as a staticentity in an index, database or other storage location. Subclients mayalso be used as an effective administrative scheme of organizing dataaccording to data type, department within the enterprise, storagepreferences, or the like. Depending on the configuration, subclients cancorrespond to files, folders, virtual machines, databases, etc. In oneexemplary scenario, an administrator may find it preferable to separatee-mail data from financial data using two different subclients.

A storage policy can define where data is stored by specifying a targetor destination storage device (or group of storage devices). Forinstance, where the secondary storage device 108 includes a group ofdisk libraries, the storage policy may specify a particular disk libraryfor storing the subclients associated with the policy. As anotherexample, where the secondary storage devices 108 include one or moretape libraries, the storage policy may specify a particular tape libraryfor storing the subclients associated with the storage policy, and mayalso specify a drive pool and a tape pool defining a group of tapedrives and a group of tapes, respectively, for use in storing thesubclient data. While information in the storage policy can bestatically assigned in some cases, some or all of the information in thestorage policy can also be dynamically determined based on criteria setforth in the storage policy. For instance, based on such criteria, aparticular destination storage device(s) or other parameter of thestorage policy may be determined based on characteristics associatedwith the data involved in a particular secondary copy operation, deviceavailability (e.g., availability of a secondary storage device 108 or amedia agent 144), network status and conditions (e.g., identifiedbottlenecks), user credentials, and the like.

Datapath information can also be included in the storage policy. Forinstance, the storage policy may specify network pathways and componentsto utilize when moving the data to the destination storage device(s). Insome embodiments, the storage policy specifies one or more media agents144 for conveying data associated with the storage policy between thesource and destination. A storage policy can also specify the type(s) ofassociated operations, such as backup, archive, snapshot, auxiliarycopy, or the like. Furthermore, retention parameters can specify howlong the resulting secondary copies 116 will be kept (e.g., a number ofdays, months, years, etc.), perhaps depending on organizational needsand/or compliance criteria.

When adding a new client computing device 102, administrators canmanually configure information management policies 148 and/or othersettings, e.g., via user interface 158. However, this can be an involvedprocess resulting in delays, and it may be desirable to begin dataprotection operations quickly, without awaiting human intervention.Thus, in some embodiments, system 100 automatically applies a defaultconfiguration to client computing device 102. As one example, when oneor more data agent(s) 142 are installed on a client computing device102, the installation script may register the client computing device102 with storage manager 140, which in turn applies the defaultconfiguration to the new client computing device 102. In this manner,data protection operations can begin substantially immediately. Thedefault configuration can include a default storage policy, for example,and can specify any appropriate information sufficient to begin dataprotection operations. This can include a type of data protectionoperation, scheduling information, a target secondary storage device108, data path information (e.g., a particular media agent 144), and thelike.

Another type of information management policy 148 is a “schedulingpolicy,” which specifies when and how often to perform operations.Scheduling parameters may specify with what frequency (e.g., hourly,weekly, daily, event-based, etc.) or under what triggering conditionssecondary copy or other information management operations are to takeplace. Scheduling policies in some cases are associated with particularcomponents, such as a subclient, client computing device 102, and thelike.

Another type of information management policy 148 is an “audit policy”(or “security policy”), which comprises preferences, rules and/orcriteria that protect sensitive data in system 100. For example, anaudit policy may define “sensitive objects” which are files or dataobjects that contain particular keywords (e.g., “confidential,” or“privileged”) and/or are associated with particular keywords (e.g., inmetadata) or particular flags (e.g., in metadata identifying a documentor email as personal, confidential, etc.). An audit policy may furtherspecify rules for handling sensitive objects. As an example, an auditpolicy may require that a reviewer approve the transfer of any sensitiveobjects to a cloud storage site, and that if approval is denied for aparticular sensitive object, the sensitive object should be transferredto a local primary storage device 104 instead. To facilitate thisapproval, the audit policy may further specify how a secondary storagecomputing device 106 or other system component should notify a reviewerthat a sensitive object is slated for transfer.

Another type of information management policy 148 is a “provisioningpolicy,” which can include preferences, priorities, rules, and/orcriteria that specify how client computing devices 102 (or groupsthereof) may utilize system resources, such as available storage oncloud storage and/or network bandwidth. A provisioning policy specifies,for example, data quotas for particular client computing devices 102(e.g., a number of gigabytes that can be stored monthly, quarterly orannually). Storage manager 140 or other components may enforce theprovisioning policy. For instance, media agents 144 may enforce thepolicy when transferring data to secondary storage devices 108. If aclient computing device 102 exceeds a quota, a budget for the clientcomputing device 102 (or associated department) may be adjustedaccordingly or an alert may trigger.

While the above types of information management policies 148 aredescribed as separate policies, one or more of these can be generallycombined into a single information management policy 148. For instance,a storage policy may also include or otherwise be associated with one ormore scheduling, audit, or provisioning policies or operationalparameters thereof. Moreover, while storage policies are typicallyassociated with moving and storing data, other policies may beassociated with other types of information management operations. Thefollowing is a non-exhaustive list of items that information managementpolicies 148 may specify:

-   -   schedules or other timing information, e.g., specifying when        and/or how often to perform information management operations;    -   the type of secondary copy 116 and/or copy format (e.g.,        snapshot, backup, archive, HSM, etc.);    -   a location or a class or quality of storage for storing        secondary copies 116 (e.g., one or more particular secondary        storage devices 108);    -   preferences regarding whether and how to encrypt, compress,        deduplicate, or otherwise modify or transform secondary copies        116;    -   which system components and/or network pathways (e.g., preferred        media agents 144) should be used to perform secondary storage        operations;    -   resource allocation among different computing devices or other        system components used in performing information management        operations (e.g., bandwidth allocation, available storage        capacity, etc.);    -   whether and how to synchronize or otherwise distribute files or        other data objects across multiple computing devices or hosted        services; and    -   retention information specifying the length of time primary data        112 and/or secondary copies 116 should be retained, e.g., in a        particular class or tier of storage devices, or within the        system 100.

Information management policies 148 can additionally specify or dependon historical or current criteria that may be used to determine whichrules to apply to a particular data object, system component, orinformation management operation, such as:

-   -   frequency with which primary data 112 or a secondary copy 116 of        a data object or metadata has been or is predicted to be used,        accessed, or modified;    -   time-related factors (e.g., aging information such as time since        the creation or modification of a data object);    -   deduplication information (e.g., hashes, data blocks,        deduplication block size, deduplication efficiency or other        metrics);    -   an estimated or historic usage or cost associated with different        components (e.g., with secondary storage devices 108);    -   the identity of users, applications 110, client computing        devices 102 and/or other computing devices that created,        accessed, modified, or otherwise utilized primary data 112 or        secondary copies 116;    -   a relative sensitivity (e.g., confidentiality, importance) of a        data object, e.g., as determined by its content and/or metadata;    -   the current or historical storage capacity of various storage        devices;    -   the current or historical network capacity of network pathways        connecting various components within the storage operation cell;    -   access control lists or other security information; and    -   the content of a particular data object (e.g., its textual        content) or of metadata associated with the data object.

Exemplary Storage Policy and Secondary Copy Operations

FIG. 1E includes a data flow diagram depicting performance of secondarycopy operations by an embodiment of information management system 100,according to an exemplary storage policy 148A. System 100 includes astorage manager 140, a client computing device 102 having a file systemdata agent 142A and an email data agent 142B operating thereon, aprimary storage device 104, two media agents 144A, 144B, and twosecondary storage devices 108: a disk library 108A and a tape library108B. As shown, primary storage device 104 includes primary data 112A,which is associated with a logical grouping of data associated with afile system (“file system subclient”), and primary data 112B, which is alogical grouping of data associated with email (“email subclient”). Thetechniques described with respect to FIG. 1E can be utilized inconjunction with data that is otherwise organized as well.

As indicated by the dashed box, the second media agent 144B and tapelibrary 108B are “off-site,” and may be remotely located from the othercomponents in system 100 (e.g., in a different city, office building,etc.). Indeed, “off-site” may refer to a magnetic tape located in remotestorage, which must be manually retrieved and loaded into a tape driveto be read. In this manner, information stored on the tape library 108Bmay provide protection in the event of a disaster or other failure atthe main site(s) where data is stored.

The file system subclient 112A in certain embodiments generallycomprises information generated by the file system and/or operatingsystem of client computing device 102, and can include, for example,file system data (e.g., regular files, file tables, mount points, etc.),operating system data (e.g., registries, event logs, etc.), and thelike. The e-mail subclient 112B can include data generated by an e-mailapplication operating on client computing device 102, e.g., mailboxinformation, folder information, emails, attachments, associateddatabase information, and the like. As described above, the subclientscan be logical containers, and the data included in the correspondingprimary data 112A and 112B may or may not be stored contiguously.

The exemplary storage policy 148A includes backup copy preferences orrule set 160, disaster recovery copy preferences or rule set 162, andcompliance copy preferences or rule set 164. Backup copy rule set 160specifies that it is associated with file system subclient 166 and emailsubclient 168. Each of subclients 166 and 168 are associated with theparticular client computing device 102. Backup copy rule set 160 furtherspecifies that the backup operation will be written to disk library 108Aand designates a particular media agent 144A to convey the data to disklibrary 108A. Finally, backup copy rule set 160 specifies that backupcopies created according to rule set 160 are scheduled to be generatedhourly and are to be retained for 30 days. In some other embodiments,scheduling information is not included in storage policy 148A and isinstead specified by a separate scheduling policy.

Disaster recovery copy rule set 162 is associated with the same twosubclients 166 and 168. However, disaster recovery copy rule set 162 isassociated with tape library 108B, unlike backup copy rule set 160.Moreover, disaster recovery copy rule set 162 specifies that a differentmedia agent, namely 144B, will convey data to tape library 108B.Disaster recovery copies created according to rule set 162 will beretained for 60 days and will be generated daily. Disaster recoverycopies generated according to disaster recovery copy rule set 162 canprovide protection in the event of a disaster or other catastrophic dataloss that would affect the backup copy 116A maintained on disk library108A.

Compliance copy rule set 164 is only associated with the email subclient168, and not the file system subclient 166. Compliance copies generatedaccording to compliance copy rule set 164 will therefore not includeprimary data 112A from the file system subclient 166. For instance, theorganization may be under an obligation to store and maintain copies ofemail data for a particular period of time (e.g., 10 years) to complywith state or federal regulations, while similar regulations do notapply to file system data. Compliance copy rule set 164 is associatedwith the same tape library 108B and media agent 144B as disasterrecovery copy rule set 162, although a different storage device or mediaagent could be used in other embodiments. Finally, compliance copy ruleset 164 specifies that the copies it governs will be generated quarterlyand retained for 10 years.

Secondary Copy Jobs

A logical grouping of secondary copy operations governed by a rule setand being initiated at a point in time may be referred to as a“secondary copy job” (and sometimes may be called a “backup job,” eventhough it is not necessarily limited to creating only backup copies).Secondary copy jobs may be initiated on demand as well. Steps 1-9 belowillustrate three secondary copy jobs based on storage policy 148A.

Referring to FIG. 1E, at step 1, storage manager 140 initiates a backupjob according to the backup copy rule set 160, which logically comprisesall the secondary copy operations necessary to effectuate rules 160 instorage policy 148A every hour, including steps 1-4 occurring hourly.For instance, a scheduling service running on storage manager 140accesses backup copy rule set 160 or a separate scheduling policyassociated with client computing device 102 and initiates a backup jobon an hourly basis. Thus, at the scheduled time, storage manager 140sends instructions to client computing device 102 (i.e., to both dataagent 142A and data agent 142B) to begin the backup job.

At step 2, file system data agent 142A and email data agent 142B onclient computing device 102 respond to instructions from storage manager140 by accessing and processing the respective subclient primary data112A and 112B involved in the backup copy operation, which can be foundin primary storage device 104. Because the secondary copy operation is abackup copy operation, the data agent(s) 142A, 142B may format the datainto a backup format or otherwise process the data suitable for a backupcopy.

At step 3, client computing device 102 communicates the processed filesystem data (e.g., using file system data agent 142A) and the processedemail data (e.g., using email data agent 142B) to the first media agent144A according to backup copy rule set 160, as directed by storagemanager 140. Storage manager 140 may further keep a record in managementdatabase 146 of the association between media agent 144A and one or moreof: client computing device 102, file system subclient 112A, file systemdata agent 142A, email subclient 112B, email data agent 142B, and/orbackup copy 116A.

The target media agent 144A receives the data-agent-processed data fromclient computing device 102, and at step 4 generates and conveys backupcopy 116A to disk library 108A to be stored as backup copy 116A, againat the direction of storage manager 140 and according to backup copyrule set 160. Media agent 144A can also update its index 153 to includedata and/or metadata related to backup copy 116A, such as informationindicating where the backup copy 116A resides on disk library 108A,where the email copy resides, where the file system copy resides, dataand metadata for cache retrieval, etc. Storage manager 140 may similarlyupdate its index 150 to include information relating to the secondarycopy operation, such as information relating to the type of operation, aphysical location associated with one or more copies created by theoperation, the time the operation was performed, status informationrelating to the operation, the components involved in the operation, andthe like. In some cases, storage manager 140 may update its index 150 toinclude some or all of the information stored in index 153 of mediaagent 144A. At this point, the backup job may be considered complete.After the 30-day retention period expires, storage manager 140 instructsmedia agent 144A to delete backup copy 116A from disk library 108A andindexes 150 and/or 153 are updated accordingly.

At step 5, storage manager 140 initiates another backup job for adisaster recovery copy according to the disaster recovery rule set 162.Illustratively this includes steps 5-7 occurring daily for creatingdisaster recovery copy 116B. Illustratively, and by way of illustratingthe scalable aspects and off-loading principles embedded in system 100,disaster recovery copy 116B is based on backup copy 116A and not onprimary data 112A and 112B.

At step 6, illustratively based on instructions received from storagemanager 140 at step 5, the specified media agent 1446 retrieves the mostrecent backup copy 116A from disk library 108A.

At step 7, again at the direction of storage manager 140 and asspecified in disaster recovery copy rule set 162, media agent 144B usesthe retrieved data to create a disaster recovery copy 1166 and store itto tape library 1086. In some cases, disaster recovery copy 116B is adirect, mirror copy of backup copy 116A, and remains in the backupformat. In other embodiments, disaster recovery copy 116B may be furthercompressed or encrypted, or may be generated in some other manner, suchas by using primary data 112A and 1126 from primary storage device 104as sources. The disaster recovery copy operation is initiated once a dayand disaster recovery copies 1166 are deleted after 60 days; indexes 153and/or 150 are updated accordingly when/after each informationmanagement operation is executed and/or completed. The present backupjob may be considered completed.

At step 8, storage manager 140 initiates another backup job according tocompliance rule set 164, which performs steps 8-9 quarterly to createcompliance copy 116C. For instance, storage manager 140 instructs mediaagent 144B to create compliance copy 116C on tape library 1086, asspecified in the compliance copy rule set 164.

At step 9 in the example, compliance copy 116C is generated usingdisaster recovery copy 1166 as the source. This is efficient, becausedisaster recovery copy resides on the same secondary storage device andthus no network resources are required to move the data. In otherembodiments, compliance copy 116C is instead generated using primarydata 112B corresponding to the email subclient or using backup copy 116Afrom disk library 108A as source data. As specified in the illustratedexample, compliance copies 116C are created quarterly, and are deletedafter ten years, and indexes 153 and/or 150 are kept up-to-dateaccordingly.

Exemplary Applications of Storage Policies—Information GovernancePolicies and Classification

Again referring to FIG. 1E, storage manager 140 may permit a user tospecify aspects of storage policy 148A. For example, the storage policycan be modified to include information governance policies to define howdata should be managed in order to comply with a certain regulation orbusiness objective. The various policies may be stored, for example, inmanagement database 146. An information governance policy may align withone or more compliance tasks that are imposed by regulations or businessrequirements. Examples of information governance policies might includea Sarbanes-Oxley policy, a HIPAA policy, an electronic discovery(e-discovery) policy, and so on.

Information governance policies allow administrators to obtain differentperspectives on an organization's online and offline data, without theneed for a dedicated data silo created solely for each differentviewpoint. As described previously, the data storage systems hereinbuild an index that reflects the contents of a distributed data set thatspans numerous clients and storage devices, including both primary dataand secondary copies, and online and offline copies. An organization mayapply multiple information governance policies in a top-down manner overthat unified data set and indexing schema in order to view andmanipulate the data set through different lenses, each of which isadapted to a particular compliance or business goal. Thus, for example,by applying an e-discovery policy and a Sarbanes-Oxley policy, twodifferent groups of users in an organization can conduct two verydifferent analyses of the same underlying physical set of data/copies,which may be distributed throughout the information management system.

An information governance policy may comprise a classification policy,which defines a taxonomy of classification terms or tags relevant to acompliance task and/or business objective. A classification policy mayalso associate a defined tag with a classification rule. Aclassification rule defines a particular combination of criteria, suchas users who have created, accessed or modified a document or dataobject; file or application types; content or metadata keywords; clientsor storage locations; dates of data creation and/or access; reviewstatus or other status within a workflow (e.g., reviewed orun-reviewed); modification times or types of modifications; and/or anyother data attributes in any combination, without limitation. Aclassification rule may also be defined using other classification tagsin the taxonomy. The various criteria used to define a classificationrule may be combined in any suitable fashion, for example, via Booleanoperators, to define a complex classification rule. As an example, ane-discovery classification policy might define a classification tag“privileged” that is associated with documents or data objects that (1)were created or modified by legal department staff, or (2) were sent toor received from outside counsel via email, or (3) contain one of thefollowing keywords: “privileged” or “attorney” or “counsel,” or otherlike terms. Accordingly, all these documents or data objects will beclassified as “privileged.”

One specific type of classification tag, which may be added to an indexat the time of indexing, is an “entity tag.” An entity tag may be, forexample, any content that matches a defined data mask format. Examplesof entity tags might include, e.g., social security numbers (e.g., anynumerical content matching the formatting mask XXX-XX-XXXX), credit cardnumbers (e.g., content having a 13-16 digit string of numbers), SKUnumbers, product numbers, etc. A user may define a classification policyby indicating criteria, parameters or descriptors of the policy via agraphical user interface, such as a form or page with fields to befilled in, pull-down menus or entries allowing one or more of severaloptions to be selected, buttons, sliders, hypertext links or other knownuser interface tools for receiving user input, etc. For example, a usermay define certain entity tags, such as a particular product number orproject ID. In some implementations, the classification policy can beimplemented using cloud-based techniques. For example, the storagedevices may be cloud storage devices, and the storage manager 140 mayexecute cloud service provider API over a network to classify datastored on cloud storage devices.

Restore Operations from Secondary Copies

While not shown in FIG. 1E, at some later point in time, a restoreoperation can be initiated involving one or more of secondary copies116A, 116B, and 116C. A restore operation logically takes a selectedsecondary copy 116, reverses the effects of the secondary copy operationthat created it, and stores the restored data to primary storage where aclient computing device 102 may properly access it as primary data. Amedia agent 144 and an appropriate data agent 142 (e.g., executing onthe client computing device 102) perform the tasks needed to complete arestore operation. For example, data that was encrypted, compressed,and/or deduplicated in the creation of secondary copy 116 will becorrespondingly rehydrated (reversing deduplication), uncompressed, andunencrypted into a format appropriate to primary data. Metadata storedwithin or associated with the secondary copy 116 may be used during therestore operation. In general, restored data should be indistinguishablefrom other primary data 112. Preferably, the restored data has fullyregained the native format that may make it immediately usable byapplication 110.

As one example, a user may manually initiate a restore of backup copy116A, e.g., by interacting with user interface 158 of storage manager140 or with a web-based console with access to system 100. Storagemanager 140 may accesses data in its index 150 and/or managementdatabase 146 (and/or the respective storage policy 148A) associated withthe selected backup copy 116A to identify the appropriate media agent144A and/or secondary storage device 108A where the secondary copyresides. The user may be presented with a representation (e.g., stub,thumbnail, listing, etc.) and metadata about the selected secondarycopy, in order to determine whether this is the appropriate copy to berestored, e.g., date that the original primary data was created. Storagemanager 140 will then instruct media agent 144A and an appropriate dataagent 142 on the target client computing device 102 to restore secondarycopy 116A to primary storage device 104. A media agent may be selectedfor use in the restore operation based on a load balancing algorithm, anavailability based algorithm, or other criteria. The selected mediaagent, e.g., 144A, retrieves secondary copy 116A from disk library 108A.For instance, media agent 144A may access its index 153 to identify alocation of backup copy 116A on disk library 108A, or may accesslocation information residing on disk library 108A itself.

In some cases a backup copy 116A that was recently created or accessed,may be cached to speed up the restore operation. In such a case, mediaagent 144A accesses a cached version of backup copy 116A residing inindex 153, without having to access disk library 108A for some or all ofthe data. Once it has retrieved backup copy 116A, the media agent 144Acommunicates the data to the requesting client computing device 102.Upon receipt, file system data agent 142A and email data agent 142B mayunpack (e.g., restore from a backup format to the native applicationformat) the data in backup copy 116A and restore the unpackaged data toprimary storage device 104. In general, secondary copies 116 may berestored to the same volume or folder in primary storage device 104 fromwhich the secondary copy was derived; to another storage location orclient computing device 102; to shared storage, etc. In some cases, thedata may be restored so that it may be used by an application 110 of adifferent version/vintage from the application that created the originalprimary data 112.

Exemplary Secondary Copy Formatting

The formatting and structure of secondary copies 116 can vary dependingon the embodiment. In some cases, secondary copies 116 are formatted asa series of logical data units or “chunks” (e.g., 512 MB, 1 GB, 2 GB, 4GB, or 8 GB chunks). This can facilitate efficient communication andwriting to secondary storage devices 108, e.g., according to resourceavailability. For example, a single secondary copy 116 may be written ona chunk-by-chunk basis to one or more secondary storage devices 108. Insome cases, users can select different chunk sizes, e.g., to improvethroughput to tape storage devices. Generally, each chunk can include aheader and a payload. The payload can include files (or other dataunits) or subsets thereof included in the chunk, whereas the chunkheader generally includes metadata relating to the chunk, some or all ofwhich may be derived from the payload. For example, during a secondarycopy operation, media agent 144, storage manager 140, or other componentmay divide files into chunks and generate headers for each chunk byprocessing the files. Headers can include a variety of information suchas file and/or volume identifier(s), offset(s), and/or other informationassociated with the payload data items, a chunk sequence number, etc.Importantly, in addition to being stored with secondary copy 116 onsecondary storage device 108, chunk headers can also be stored to index153 of the associated media agent(s) 144 and/or to index 150 associatedwith storage manager 140. This can be useful for providing fasterprocessing of secondary copies 116 during browsing, restores, or otheroperations. In some cases, once a chunk is successfully transferred to asecondary storage device 108, the secondary storage device 108 returnsan indication of receipt, e.g., to media agent 144 and/or storagemanager 140, which may update their respective indexes 153, 150accordingly. During restore, chunks may be processed (e.g., by mediaagent 144) according to the information in the chunk header toreassemble the files.

Data can also be communicated within system 100 in data channels thatconnect client computing devices 102 to secondary storage devices 108.These data channels can be referred to as “data streams,” and multipledata streams can be employed to parallelize an information managementoperation, improving data transfer rate, among other advantages. Exampledata formatting techniques including techniques involving datastreaming, chunking, and the use of other data structures in creatingsecondary copies are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,315,923, 8,156,086,and 8,578,120.

FIGS. 1F and 1G are diagrams of example data streams 170 and 171,respectively, which may be employed for performing informationmanagement operations. Referring to FIG. 1F, data agent 142 forms datastream 170 from source data associated with a client computing device102 (e.g., primary data 112). Data stream 170 is composed of multiplepairs of stream header 172 and stream data (or stream payload) 174. Datastreams 170 and 171 shown in the illustrated example are for asingle-instanced storage operation, and a stream payload 174 thereforemay include both single-instance (SI) data and/or non-SI data. A streamheader 172 includes metadata about the stream payload 174. This metadatamay include, for example, a length of the stream payload 174, anindication of whether the stream payload 174 is encrypted, an indicationof whether the stream payload 174 is compressed, an archive fileidentifier (ID), an indication of whether the stream payload 174 issingle instanceable, and an indication of whether the stream payload 174is a start of a block of data.

Referring to FIG. 1G, data stream 171 has the stream header 172 andstream payload 174 aligned into multiple data blocks. In this example,the data blocks are of size 64 KB. The first two stream header 172 andstream payload 174 pairs comprise a first data block of size 64 KB. Thefirst stream header 172 indicates that the length of the succeedingstream payload 174 is 63 KB and that it is the start of a data block.The next stream header 172 indicates that the succeeding stream payload174 has a length of 1 KB and that it is not the start of a new datablock. Immediately following stream payload 174 is a pair comprising anidentifier header 176 and identifier data 178. The identifier header 176includes an indication that the succeeding identifier data 178 includesthe identifier for the immediately previous data block. The identifierdata 178 includes the identifier that the data agent 142 generated forthe data block. The data stream 171 also includes other stream header172 and stream payload 174 pairs, which may be for SI data and/or non-SIdata.

FIG. 1H is a diagram illustrating data structures 180 that may be usedto store blocks of SI data and non-SI data on a storage device (e.g.,secondary storage device 108). According to certain embodiments, datastructures 180 do not form part of a native file system of the storagedevice. Data structures 180 include one or more volume folders 182, oneor more chunk folders 184/185 within the volume folder 182, and multiplefiles within chunk folder 184. Each chunk folder 184/185 includes ametadata file 186/187, a metadata index file 188/189, one or morecontainer files 190/191/193, and a container index file 192/194.Metadata file 186/187 stores non-SI data blocks as well as links to SIdata blocks stored in container files. Metadata index file 188/189stores an index to the data in the metadata file 186/187. Containerfiles 190/191/193 store SI data blocks. Container index file 192/194stores an index to container files 190/191/193. Among other things,container index file 192/194 stores an indication of whether acorresponding block in a container file 190/191/193 is referred to by alink in a metadata file 186/187. For example, data block B2 in thecontainer file 190 is referred to by a link in metadata file 187 inchunk folder 185. Accordingly, the corresponding index entry incontainer index file 192 indicates that data block B2 in container file190 is referred to. As another example, data block B1 in container file191 is referred to by a link in metadata file 187, and so thecorresponding index entry in container index file 192 indicates thatthis data block is referred to.

As an example, data structures 180 illustrated in FIG. 1H may have beencreated as a result of separate secondary copy operations involving twoclient computing devices 102. For example, a first secondary copyoperation on a first client computing device 102 could result in thecreation of the first chunk folder 184, and a second secondary copyoperation on a second client computing device 102 could result in thecreation of the second chunk folder 185. Container files 190/191 in thefirst chunk folder 184 would contain the blocks of SI data of the firstclient computing device 102. If the two client computing devices 102have substantially similar data, the second secondary copy operation onthe data of the second client computing device 102 would result in mediaagent 144 storing primarily links to the data blocks of the first clientcomputing device 102 that are already stored in the container files190/191. Accordingly, while a first secondary copy operation may resultin storing nearly all of the data subject to the operation, subsequentsecondary storage operations involving similar data may result insubstantial data storage space savings, because links to already storeddata blocks can be stored instead of additional instances of datablocks.

If the operating system of the secondary storage computing device 106 onwhich media agent 144 operates supports sparse files, then when mediaagent 144 creates container files 190/191/193, it can create them assparse files. A sparse file is a type of file that may include emptyspace (e.g., a sparse file may have real data within it, such as at thebeginning of the file and/or at the end of the file, but may also haveempty space in it that is not storing actual data, such as a contiguousrange of bytes all having a value of zero). Having container files190/191/193 be sparse files allows media agent 144 to free up space incontainer files 190/191/193 when blocks of data in container files190/191/193 no longer need to be stored on the storage devices. In someexamples, media agent 144 creates a new container file 190/191/193 whena container file 190/191/193 either includes 100 blocks of data or whenthe size of the container file 190 exceeds 50 MB. In other examples,media agent 144 creates a new container file 190/191/193 when acontainer file 190/191/193 satisfies other criteria (e.g., it containsfrom approx. 100 to approx. 1000 blocks or when its size exceedsapproximately 50 MB to 1 GB). In some cases, a file on which a secondarycopy operation is performed may comprise a large number of data blocks.For example, a 100 MB file may comprise 400 data blocks of size 256 KB.If such a file is to be stored, its data blocks may span more than onecontainer file, or even more than one chunk folder. As another example,a database file of 20 GB may comprise over 40,000 data blocks of size512 KB. If such a database file is to be stored, its data blocks willlikely span multiple container files, multiple chunk folders, andpotentially multiple volume folders. Restoring such files may requireaccessing multiple container files, chunk folders, and/or volume foldersto obtain the requisite data blocks.

Using Backup Data for Replication and Disaster Recovery (“LiveSynchronization”)

There is an increased demand to off-load resource intensive informationmanagement tasks (e.g., data replication tasks) away from productiondevices (e.g., physical or virtual client computing devices) in order tomaximize production efficiency. At the same time, enterprises expectaccess to readily-available up-to-date recovery copies in the event offailure, with little or no production downtime.

FIG. 2A illustrates a system 200 configured to address these and otherissues by using backup or other secondary copy data to synchronize asource subsystem 201 (e.g., a production site) with a destinationsubsystem 203 (e.g., a failover site). Such a technique can be referredto as “live synchronization” and/or “live synchronization replication.”In the illustrated embodiment, the source client computing devices 202 ainclude one or more virtual machines (or “VMs”) executing on one or morecorresponding VM host computers 205 a, though the source need not bevirtualized. The destination site 203 may be at a location that isremote from the production site 201, or may be located in the same datacenter, without limitation. One or more of the production site 201 anddestination site 203 may reside at data centers at known geographiclocations, or alternatively may operate “in the cloud.”

The synchronization can be achieved by generally applying an ongoingstream of incremental backups from the source subsystem 201 to thedestination subsystem 203, such as according to what can be referred toas an “incremental forever” approach. FIG. 2A illustrates an embodimentof a data flow which may be orchestrated at the direction of one or morestorage managers (not shown). At step 1, the source data agent(s) 242 aand source media agent(s) 244 a work together to write backup or othersecondary copies of the primary data generated by the source clientcomputing devices 202 a into the source secondary storage device(s) 208a. At step 2, the backup/secondary copies are retrieved by the sourcemedia agent(s) 244 a from secondary storage. At step 3, source mediaagent(s) 244 a communicate the backup/secondary copies across a networkto the destination media agent(s) 244 b in destination subsystem 203.

As shown, the data can be copied from source to destination in anincremental fashion, such that only changed blocks are transmitted, andin some cases multiple incremental backups are consolidated at thesource so that only the most current changed blocks are transmitted toand applied at the destination. An example of live synchronization ofvirtual machines using the “incremental forever” approach is found inU.S. Patent Application No. 62/265,339 entitled “Live Synchronizationand Management of Virtual Machines across Computing and VirtualizationPlatforms and Using Live Synchronization to Support Disaster Recovery.”Moreover, a deduplicated copy can be employed to further reduce networktraffic from source to destination. For instance, the system can utilizethe deduplicated copy techniques described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,239,687,entitled “Systems and Methods for Retaining and Using Data BlockSignatures in Data Protection Operations.”

At step 4, destination media agent(s) 244 b write the receivedbackup/secondary copy data to the destination secondary storagedevice(s) 208 b. At step 5, the synchronization is completed when thedestination media agent(s) and destination data agent(s) 242 b restorethe backup/secondary copy data to the destination client computingdevice(s) 202 b. The destination client computing device(s) 202 b may bekept “warm” awaiting activation in case failure is detected at thesource. This synchronization/replication process can incorporate thetechniques described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/721,971,entitled “Replication Using Deduplicated Secondary Copy Data.”

Where the incremental backups are applied on a frequent, on-going basis,the synchronized copies can be viewed as mirror or replication copies.Moreover, by applying the incremental backups to the destination site203 using backup or other secondary copy data, the production site 201is not burdened with the synchronization operations. Because thedestination site 203 can be maintained in a synchronized “warm” state,the downtime for switching over from the production site 201 to thedestination site 203 is substantially less than with a typical restorefrom secondary storage. Thus, the production site 201 may flexibly andefficiently fail over, with minimal downtime and with relativelyup-to-date data, to a destination site 203, such as a cloud-basedfailover site. The destination site 203 can later be reversesynchronized back to the production site 201, such as after repairs havebeen implemented or after the failure has passed.

Integrating With the Cloud Using File System Protocols

Given the ubiquity of cloud computing, it can be increasingly useful toprovide data protection and other information management services in ascalable, transparent, and highly plug-able fashion. FIG. 2B illustratesan information management system 200 having an architecture thatprovides such advantages, and incorporates use of a standard file systemprotocol between primary and secondary storage subsystems 217, 218. Asshown, the use of the network file system (NFS) protocol (or any anotherappropriate file system protocol such as that of the Common InternetFile System (CIFS)) allows data agent 242 to be moved from the primarystorage subsystem 217 to the secondary storage subsystem 218. Forinstance, as indicated by the dashed box 206 around data agent 242 andmedia agent 244, data agent 242 can co-reside with media agent 244 onthe same server (e.g., a secondary storage computing device such ascomponent 106), or in some other location in secondary storage subsystem218.

Where NFS is used, for example, secondary storage subsystem 218allocates an NFS network path to the client computing device 202 or toone or more target applications 210 running on client computing device202. During a backup or other secondary copy operation, the clientcomputing device 202 mounts the designated NFS path and writes data tothat NFS path. The NFS path may be obtained from NFS path data 215stored locally at the client computing device 202, and which may be acopy of or otherwise derived from NFS path data 219 stored in thesecondary storage subsystem 218.

Write requests issued by client computing device(s) 202 are received bydata agent 242 in secondary storage subsystem 218, which translates therequests and works in conjunction with media agent 244 to process andwrite data to a secondary storage device(s) 208, thereby creating abackup or other secondary copy. Storage manager 240 can include apseudo-client manager 217, which coordinates the process by, among otherthings, communicating information relating to client computing device202 and application 210 (e.g., application type, client computing deviceidentifier, etc.) to data agent 242, obtaining appropriate NFS path datafrom the data agent 242 (e.g., NFS path information), and deliveringsuch data to client computing device 202.

Conversely, during a restore or recovery operation client computingdevice 202 reads from the designated NFS network path, and the readrequest is translated by data agent 242. The data agent 242 then workswith media agent 244 to retrieve, re-process (e.g., re-hydrate,decompress, decrypt), and forward the requested data to client computingdevice 202 using NFS.

By moving specialized software associated with system 200 such as dataagent 242 off the client computing devices 202, the illustrativearchitecture effectively decouples the client computing devices 202 fromthe installed components of system 200, improving both scalability andplug-ability of system 200. Indeed, the secondary storage subsystem 218in such environments can be treated simply as a read/write NFS targetfor primary storage subsystem 217, without the need for informationmanagement software to be installed on client computing devices 202. Asone example, an enterprise implementing a cloud production computingenvironment can add VM client computing devices 202 without installingand configuring specialized information management software on theseVMs. Rather, backups and restores are achieved transparently, where thenew VMs simply write to and read from the designated NFS path. Anexample of integrating with the cloud using file system protocols orso-called “infinite backup” using NFS share is found in U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/294,920, entitled “Data Protection Operations Basedon Network Path Information.” Examples of improved data restorationscenarios based on network-path information, including using storedbackups effectively as primary data sources, may be found in U.S. PatentApplication No. 62/297,057, entitled “Data Restoration Operations Basedon Network Path Information.”

Highly Scalable Managed Data Pool Architecture

Enterprises are seeing explosive data growth in recent years, often fromvarious applications running in geographically distributed locations.FIG. 2C shows a block diagram of an example of a highly scalable,managed data pool architecture useful in accommodating such data growth.The illustrated system 200, which may be referred to as a “web-scale”architecture according to certain embodiments, can be readilyincorporated into both open compute/storage and common-cloudarchitectures.

The illustrated system 200 includes a grid 245 of media agents 244logically organized into a control tier 231 and a secondary or storagetier 233. Media agents assigned to the storage tier 233 can beconfigured to manage a secondary storage pool 208 as a deduplicationstore, and be configured to receive client write and read requests fromthe primary storage subsystem 217, and direct those requests to thesecondary tier 233 for servicing. For instance, media agents CMA1-CMA3in the control tier 231 maintain and consult one or more deduplicationdatabases 247, which can include deduplication information (e.g., datablock hashes, data block links, file containers for deduplicated files,etc.) sufficient to read deduplicated files from secondary storage pool208 and write deduplicated files to secondary storage pool 208. Forinstance, system 200 can incorporate any of the deduplication systemsand methods shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,020,900, entitled“Distributed Deduplicated Storage System,” and U.S. Pat. Pub. No.2014/0201170, entitled “High Availability Distributed DeduplicatedStorage System.”

Media agents SMA1-SMA6 assigned to the secondary tier 233 receive writeand read requests from media agents CMA1-CMA3 in control tier 231, andaccess secondary storage pool 208 to service those requests. Mediaagents CMA1-CMA3 in control tier 231 can also communicate with secondarystorage pool 208, and may execute read and write requests themselves(e.g., in response to requests from other control media agentsCMA1-CMA3) in addition to issuing requests to media agents in secondarytier 233. Moreover, while shown as separate from the secondary storagepool 208, deduplication database(s) 247 can in some cases reside instorage devices in secondary storage pool 208.

As shown, each of the media agents 244 (e.g., CMA1-CMA3, SMA1-SMA6,etc.) in grid 245 can be allocated a corresponding dedicated partition251A-2511, respectively, in secondary storage pool 208. Each partition251 can include a first portion 253 containing data associated with(e.g., stored by) media agent 244 corresponding to the respectivepartition 251. System 200 can also implement a desired level ofreplication, thereby providing redundancy in the event of a failure of amedia agent 244 in grid 245. Along these lines, each partition 251 canfurther include a second portion 255 storing one or more replicationcopies of the data associated with one or more other media agents 244 inthe grid.

System 200 can also be configured to allow for seamless addition ofmedia agents 244 to grid 245 via automatic configuration. As oneillustrative example, a storage manager (not shown) or other appropriatecomponent may determine that it is appropriate to add an additional nodeto control tier 231, and perform some or all of the following: (i)assess the capabilities of a newly added or otherwise availablecomputing device as satisfying a minimum criteria to be configured as orhosting a media agent in control tier 231; (ii) confirm that asufficient amount of the appropriate type of storage exists to supportan additional node in control tier 231 (e.g., enough disk drive capacityexists in storage pool 208 to support an additional deduplicationdatabase 247); (iii) install appropriate media agent software on thecomputing device and configure the computing device according to apre-determined template; (iv) establish a partition 251 in the storagepool 208 dedicated to the newly established media agent 244; and (v)build any appropriate data structures (e.g., an instance ofdeduplication database 247). An example of highly scalable managed datapool architecture or so-called web-scale architecture for storage anddata management is found in U.S. Patent Application No. 62/273,286entitled “Redundant and Robust Distributed Deduplication Data StorageSystem.”

The embodiments and components thereof disclosed in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and2C, as well as those in FIGS. 1A-1H, may be implemented in anycombination and permutation to satisfy data storage management andinformation management needs at one or more locations and/or datacenters.

Distributed and Scalable Client-Based and Microservices-Based StorageManagement

The systems described in the preceding figures generally rely oncentralizing the managing of storage operations in the sense that themanagement is generally driven from and directed by a storage manager(e.g., 140), whereas the execution of storage operations is generallyperformed by one or more data agents (e.g., 142) and/or media agents(e.g., 144) as directed by the storage manager. See, e.g., FIG. 1E.These centralized approaches are due in part to a management database(e.g., 146) that is configured within or in close association with eachstorage manager. Because in these traditional systems the managementdatabase is centralized, the data agents and media agents requiresubstantial amounts of communications with the storage manager, which isthen responsible for accessing the management database (see, e.g., FIG.1E). When a data storage management system is implemented with tens ofthousands or more clients, the storage manager and the managementdatabase can become bottlenecks. The bottlenecks, whether they manifestas processing overload, slow database access, insufficientcommunications infrastructure, and/or network overload, affect systemperformance and limit growth. Hence the need for a more streamlinedapproach.

The present inventors devised technologies that overcome these obstaclesand offer distributed and scalable storage management using aclient-based architecture and/or a microservices-based architecture. SeeFIGS. 3-12. The new architectures depart from the centralized approachin the prior art. The illustrative embodiments distribute managementresponsibilities and the information needed for storage management jobsaway from the central storage manager and its management database.Accordingly, storage operations are executed based on distributedcontrol and distributed information without having to tap the storagemanager or access the management database. New features minimizecommunications to/from the storage manager and ensure the integrity andsynchronization of data. The centralized management database at thestorage manager retains its role as repository of information for thedata storage management system as a whole, yet without being abottleneck to storage operations.

CLIENT-BASED STORAGE MANAGEMENT. This architecture enables individualclients to perform storage operations autonomously without access to thestorage manager or its management database. See, e.g., FIGS. 3, 4, 6, 7,8, 12. Client-specific portions of the centralized management database(“client view slices”) are distributed to individual clients where theyare stored in a local “client management database” that comprises onlysuch data from the centralized management database as forms the client'sview of the centralized management database. Thus, the client has allthe management information it needs for performing storage operations.At the client, a data agent interoperates with a “client storageservice” to use the client management database to execute storageoperations involving data at the client, e.g., backups, secondary copyoperations, restores, etc. In some embodiments, read requests issued bythe data agent are served by the client storage service from the clientmanagement database, but write operations from the data agent continueto use traditional communications to/from the storage manager. See FIG.7. This approach minimizes synchronization needs between central andlocal databases. In other embodiments, the client storage servicehandles read requests and write operations issued by the data agentfrom/to the client management database without contacting the storagemanager and/or its management database to perform storage operations.See FIG. 8. This approach provides more autonomy to the client. Theclient backs up the client management database for additionalprotection. Periodically or occasionally each client management databasesynchronizes with the centralized management database, which includesupdates queued up at the storage manager and/or new informationgenerated at the client. See FIG. 12.

MICROSERVICES-BASED STORAGE MANAGEMENT. This architecture enables groupsof clients to be serviced by a micro-server apart from other clients inthe system. See FIGS. 5, 6, 9, 12. Control and client view slices aredistributed by interposing a “micro-server” between the storage managerand a group of clients, which are serviced exclusively by themicro-server and not by the storage manager. In this microservices-basedarchitecture, data agents at each client communicate with themicro-server and not with the storage manager for performing storageoperations. The micro-server comprises a “group storage service” and a“client-group management database” that comprises client view slices forclients assigned to the particular group. Thus, read requests and writeoperations issued by a data agent are serviced by the group storageservice, which handles reads and writes from/to the client-groupmanagement database. The micro-server backs up the client-groupmanagement database for additional protection. Periodically oroccasionally each client-group management database synchronizes with thecentralized management database at the storage manager, which includesupdates queued up at the storage manager and/or new informationgenerated by the clients in the group. See, e.g., FIG. 12.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating some salient portions of a system300 for Distributed And Scalable Client-Based Storage Management,according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. System300 comprises: secondary storage computing device 106 comprising mediaagent 144; secondary storage device 108, comprising secondary copies 116(not shown here); storage manager host 301, which comprises storagemanager 340 comprising management database 346; and client 390comprising client computing device 302, which hosts application and/orfile system 110, associated data agent 142, client storage service 350,and client management database 356. Traditional communication pathways114 are depicted by the dashed bi-directional arrows. Communicationpathways 362, 363, 364, and 366 are depicted by the bold bi-directionalarrows. Primary data 112 generated by client 390 or by computing device302 and primary storage devices 104 in communication with client 390 arenot shown in the present figure.

System 300 is a data storage management system analogous to system 100and additionally comprising functionality for distributed and scalableclient-based storage management, e.g., storage manager 340, clientstorage service 350, client management database 356, and methods 700,800, and 1200, etc.

Storage manager host 301 is a computing device comprising one or moreprocessors and computer memory. Illustratively, host 301 is dedicated tohosting storage manager 340 and does not perform other functions in datastorage management system 300, though the invention is not so limited.

Client computing device 302 is a computing device comprising one or moreprocessors and computer memory and is analogous to client computingdevice 102, and additionally comprises functionality for operating insystem 300 and/or system 500. Illustratively, client computing device302 hosts application and/or file system 110, respective data agent(s)142, client storage service 350, and client management database 356.

Storage manager 340 is analogous to storage manager 140 and additionallycomprises enhanced features for operating in system 300 and/or system500. More details are given in FIG. 6.

Management database 346 is a database that is analogous to managementdatabase 146 and additionally comprises information for operating insystem 300 and/or system 500, such as triggers, triggered rows (capturetable) 672, work queue requests 674, and the ability to extract “clientview slices” (e.g., extracted client tables 673) for distribution.Management database 346 is shown here as a component of storage manager340, but the invention is not so limited and is some embodimentsdatabase 346 is associated with and interoperates with storage manager340 but is not part thereof. Logically, however, management database 346is part of storage manager 340 since other components can access it onlyvia storage manager 340. Analogous to management database 146,management database 346 comprises management-related data fortriggering, managing, and tracking of storage management jobs, andstatus and administrative parameters for properly managing these storagemanagement jobs and the data storage management system as a whole. Insystem 300 and system 500, much of this information is distributed toother components (e.g., clients 390, micro-servers 501) where theinformation is actually used for performing storage operations andstorage management jobs. Management database 346 retains its role asrepository of information for data storage management system 300/500 asa whole, yet without being a bottleneck to storage operations.Illustratively, management database 346 is implemented as an instance ofMicrosoft SQL, which is a relational database management system, andcomprises several tables of information, each table being composed ofrows. The invention is not limited to relational databases, and any kindof database structure and schema is suitable for the present invention.However, for ease of understanding of the present disclosure, relationaldatabase terms (e.g., tables, rows) may be used herein.

Client storage service 350 (or “service 350”) is a functional componentof client 390; it executes on client computing device 302 and isimplemented as executable software and/or firmware. When it executesaccording to the illustrative embodiment, service 350 coordinates amongand interoperates with storage manager 340, data agent(s) 142, andclient management database 356. This is reflected in part bycommunication pathways 362, 364, and 366, respectively. Illustratively,service 350 performs portions of methods 700, 800, and 1200 asillustrated herein. Illustratively, when multiple data agents 142operate at client 390, they are all serviced by client storage service350 and client management database 356. Service 350 is shown herein as adistinct functional component to ease understanding of the presentdisclosure, but alternative embodiments are also possible within thescope of the present invention, for example wherein service 350 isincorporated into data agent(s) executing at the client.

Client management database 356 is a data structure organized as adatabase (illustratively a relational database) having a schemacompatible with management database 346. The compatible schema is neededin order to assure interoperability with storage manager 340 andmanagement database 346, such as adding new data, updating existingdata, deleting data, adding tables, etc. On initialization, clientmanagement database 356 comprises “client view slices” (e.g., rows inone or more tables received as extracted client tables 673) extractedfrom management database 346 that comprise information pertaining to thegiven client that hosts the client management database 356, e.g., clientA, and not including other clients. Client management database 356 isorganized into one or more tables according to the compatible schema.Any data that is written into client management database 356 complieswith the schema, so that it can be seamlessly integrated into managementdatabase 346 at the storage manager, e.g., during synchronization.Illustratively, client management database 356 is implemented as aSQLite instance, but the invention is not so limited.

Communication pathways 362, 363, 364, and 366 reflect theinteroperability of storage manager 340, client storage service 350,data agent 142, media agent 144, and client management database 356.Traditionally, data agent 142 communicates directly with storage manager140, which communicates with media agent 144 (see, e.g., FIG. 1E) inorder to perform storage operations. In contrast, the illustrativeembodiment interposes service 350 between data agent 142 and storagemanager 340, so that service 350 can handle read requests and/or writeoperations issued by data agent 142. In some embodiments, client service350 also communicates with media agent 144 to manage storage operationsfor data generated at client 390. More details are given in FIG. 6.

A “client” 390 herein is used as shorthand for a client computing device302 and the functionality executing thereon, including data agent 142,client storage service 350, and client management database 356. Thus adata agent 142 is said to operate at or on a client. Likewise, clientstorage service 350 is said to operate at or on a client. Clientmanagement database 356 is said to reside at the client. An applicationand/or file system 110 generates data at the client. A client cancomprise any number of data agents 142, each one associated with certaindata at the client. Local data storage 104 comprising primary data 112is not shown here, but also forms part of client 390.

System 300 comprises any number of clients 390 without limitation.Components shown in preceding figures (e.g., 102, 104) also can be partof system 300, without limitation. In some embodiments, micro-servers501 and client groups 580 (see, e.g., FIG. 5) also are part of system300.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that depicts an embodiment of system 300comprising a plurality of clients 390, and respective communicationspathways therefor. The present embodiment depicts a plurality of clients390, including client computing devices 302-1, 302-2, 302-3, and 302-N,each one having a communication pathway 362 to/from storage manager 340.Each client 390 is analogous to the one depicted in FIG. 3 and comprisesa respective data agent 142, client storage service 350, and clientmanagement database 356. A respective application and/or file system 110generates data at the client.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating some salient portions of a system500 for distributed and scalable microservices-based storage management,according to an illustrative embodiment of the present invention. System500 comprises: client computing devices 102 forming client group 580;secondary storage computing device 106 comprising media agent 144;secondary storage device 108 comprising secondary copies 116 (not shownhere); storage manager host 301, which hosts storage manager 340comprising management database 346; and storage microservices server501, which comprises group storage service 550 and client-groupmanagement database 556. Traditional communication pathways 114 aredepicted by the dashed bi-directional arrows. Communication pathways562, 563, 566, and 568 are depicted by the bold bi-directional arrows.Primary data 112 generated by client computing devices 102 and primarystorage devices 104 in communication therewith are not shown in thepresent figure.

Each client computing device 102 comprises an application and/or filesystem 110 and an associated data agent 142. See, e.g., FIG. 1C. Incontrast to client 390, the client computing devices 102 aretraditionally equipped without client storage service 350 and withoutclient management database 356. In contrast with client computingdevices 102 in FIG. 1E, the ones here are configured to communicate withstorage management micro-server 501 using communication pathway 568.Collectively these clients form client group 580 (hereinafter “a clientin client group 580” to distinguish from clients 390).

Storage microservices server or “micro-server” 501 is a computing devicethat comprises one or more processors and computer memory.Illustratively, micro-server 501 is dedicated to servicing client group580, though the invention is not so limited. Micro-server 501 isfunctionally interposed between storage manager 340 and the clients inclient group 580. Component 501 is referred to as a “microservices”server, because it offers a limited functionality relative to clients580, as compared to storage manager 340. The term “micro-server” 501 isused herein as a shorthand for microservices server 501.

Group storage service 550 (or “service 550”) is a functional componentof micro-server 501 that is implemented as executable software and/orfirmware. When it executes according to the illustrative embodiment,service 550 coordinates among and interoperates with storage manager340, data agents 142 in client group 580, media agent(s) 144, andclient-group management database 356. This is reflected in part bycommunication pathways 562, 568, 563, and 566, respectively.Illustratively, service 550 performs portions of methods 900 and 1200 asillustrated herein.

Client-group management database 556 is a data structure organized as adatabase (illustratively a relational database analogous to database356) having a schema compatible with management database 346. Thecompatible schema is needed in order to assure interoperability withstorage manager 340 and management database 346, such as adding newdata, updating existing data, deleting data, adding tables, etc. Oninitialization, client-group management database 556 comprises onlyclient view slices (e.g., rows in one or more tables received asextracted client tables 673) extracted from management database 346 thatcomprise information pertaining to the clients in client group 580 andnot including other clients outside the client group. Illustratively,client-group management database 556 is organized into one or moretables according to the compatible schema. Any data that is written intoclient-group management database 556 complies with the schema so that itcan be seamlessly integrated into management database 346 at the storagemanager, e.g., during synchronization. Illustratively, client-groupmanagement database 556 is implemented as a SQLite instance, but theinvention is not so limited.

Client group 580 is an administrative grouping comprising a plurality oftraditional clients using client computing devices 102. A client group580 can comprise any number of clients, e.g., 1000, 10000, 20000, 50000,etc., without limitation. A client in a given client group 580 is servedby a micro-server 501, but the client can be re-assignedadministratively to another client group 580 served by a differentmicro-server 501. Alternatively, the client can be equipped withadditional components 350 and 356 and thus transform into a client 390,which is configured outside client group 580.

System 500 comprises any number of micro-servers 501 each one supportinga respective client group 580, without limitation. Components shown inpreceding figures (e.g., clients 390, individual clients 102 outside ofclient groups) also can be part of system 500, without limitation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting certain salient details ofcomponents operating in a system 300 and/or system 500. FIG. 6 depicts:data agent 142; storage manager 340 comprising control distributionservice 650 and management database 346 comprising triggered rows(capture table) 672, extracted client table 673, and work queue requests674; client/group storage service 350/550; and client/group managementdatabase 356/556 comprising table 680-1 and table 680-2. Communicationpathway 114-DA is depicted by the dashed bi-directional arrow.Communication pathways 362/562, 366/566, and 364/568 are depicted by thebold bi-directional arrows. Some salient components (e.g., computingdevices 106, 301, 302, 501, application/file system 110, storage devices104, media agents 144) are not shown here in order to simplify thepresent figure and enhance the reader's understanding of the disclosedfunctionality.

Control distribution service 650 (or “service 650”) is a functionalcomponent of storage manager 340, which is used for distributing controlof storage operations and storage management jobs to clients 390 andmicro-servers 501, and also for receiving updates therefrom andseamlessly integrating them into management database 346. Service 650participates in methods 700, 800, 900, and 1200 as described in moredetail in other figures. According to illustrative embodiments, service650 is responsible for one or more of:

-   -   Propagating policy changes to sections of management database        346 pertaining to affected clients;    -   Managing a queue of update requests;    -   Establishing triggers;    -   Reacting to triggers, by capturing changed rows and adding        update requests to the queue;    -   Detecting when a client and/or micro-server is online and ready        to receive updates and/or synchronize;    -   Extracting client tables from corresponding capture tables,        adding operation indicators, and applying hash functions;    -   Checking for fake versus real updates;    -   Transmitting updates to clients and/or micro-servers, e.g.,        based on queued up update requests; and/or    -   Updating management database based on information received from        clients and/or micro-servers when synchronizing.

Storage manager 340 (e.g., using service 650) comprises new features forpropagating policy changes to appropriate clients that operate accordingto the new architectures (e.g., clients 390, clients in client group580) (hereinafter “clients 390/580”). For example, if an administratoradds/changes a policy (e.g., a schedule policy or a backup window) thataffects several clients, the storage manager identifies all affectedclients 390/580 and updates triggers accordingly to any tablescomprising information for those clients 390/580 in management database346. No such triggers are set for traditional clients that are notclients 390 or not in a client group 580.

Triggered rows 672 are illustratively implemented as “capture tables”comprising rows of data that has changed as indicated by a trigger. Totrack and manage the taking of proper client view slices, service 650sets triggers within management database 346, illustratively setting atrigger at every table comprising data for clients 390/580. Thus, alldatabase items associated with a given client 390/580, such as one ormore tables of a relational database, carry a trigger. When atrigger-carrying table changes (e.g., a row in the table is updated,added, marked deleted), the trigger springs into action. Accordingly,the trigger causes the changed item (e.g., a row in the table) to becaptured as a triggered row into capture table 672, where it residesuntil transmitted to the client. Additionally, the trigger causes anupdate request 674 to be queued at the storage manager indicating thatan update to management database 346 is to be transmitted to therespective client 390/580. Each original table in management database346 can have a corresponding capture table 672 comprising the capturedchanges.

Extracted Client Tables 673 are client-specific tables created fromclient view slices in respective capture tables 672. In contrast tocapture tables 672, each of which comprises row(s) for any and allclients 390/580 where a change was detected by a trigger, an extractedclient table 673 is limited to only those rows extracted from capturetable 672 that pertain to the given client 390/580 (“client viewslices”). If a given client 390/580, e.g., client A, is affected by anadministrative change, e.g., to a backup schedule, backup destination,retention period, etc., the change is first effectuated in managementdatabase 346, e.g., in row R of table T. The trigger for table T causesrow R to be added to capture table 672 that corresponds to originaltable T, and posts a request 674 to the work queue. At a suitable time,e.g., when storage manager 340 (e.g., using service 650) becomes awarethat client A is online and a request 674 is pending, only the updatesfor client A (e.g., row R) are extracted from capture table 672 into acorresponding extracted client table 673. This is repeated for anynumber of capture tables 672 comprising Client A data and resulting in arespective client A-specific table 673. Storage manager 340 (e.g., usingservice 650) adds and/or associates an “operation indicator” to each rowin extracted client table(s) 673, flagging the row as an update ofexisting data, new data, or a deletion of existing data. Storage manager340 (e.g., using service 650) applies a hash function and computes ahash value HE for each extracted client table 673. Thus the hash valuesHE pertain strictly to client view slices for client A.

Work queue requests 674 are entries in a work queue (not shown here)kept in management database 346. Storage manager 340 (e.g., usingservice 650) manages the work queue, for example by using a work queuethread (not shown here) to do so. Each request 674 is processed byservice 650 at a suitable time, e.g., when in communication with thetarget client 390 or micro-server 501.

Client/group storage service 350/550 receives extracted client table(s)673 from storage manager 340, e.g., at synchronization time.Client/group storage service 350/550 processes the extracted clienttable(s) 673 and incorporates the received data into local database356/556 as appropriate, e.g., using the operation indicator for eachrow. Thus, client/group storage service 350/550 is responsible forsynchronizing the local database 356/556 with data received frommanagement database 346, and is also responsible for preparing andtransmitting updates. If the synchronization fails, client/group storageservice 350/550 marks the local database 356/556 invalid, and operatesin a pass-through capacity as a conduit for traditional communications(see communication pathway 114-DA) between data agent(s) 142 and storagemanager 340, but WITHOUT using local database 356/556 for storageoperations involving the data agent 142.

Client management database 356 and/or client-group management database556 are collectively referred to herein as “local database 356/556” (incontrast to centralized management database 346) to ease the reading ofthe present disclosure.

Tables 680 (e.g., 680-1, 680-2) are portions of local database 356/556.In a relational database schema, each table 680 is a smaller version ofa corresponding table (not shown) in management database 346. Each table680 comprises only those “client view slices” that are relevant to thepresent client 390/580 that is supported by the local database 356/556.Each row identifies the relevant client (e.g., client A). Table 680-1illustrates a table in database 356 comprising only entries for a clientA. Table 680-2 illustrates a table in database 556 comprising entriesfor a plurality of clients in group 580.

Communication pathway 114-DA is depicted by the dashed bi-directionalarrow. Communication pathway 114-DA represents “traditionalcommunications” between data agent 142 and a storage manager, but hereit passes through client/group storage service 350/550 on its wayto/from storage manager 340. According to some of the illustrativeembodiments, data agents 142 communicate with service 350/550 forperforming storage operations and not directly with storage manager 340.However, when local database 356/556 is marked “invalid” or“invalidated,” it cannot service data agent 142, e.g., responding toread requests, accepting writes, providing data to service 350/550, etc.Under such invalidity conditions, in order to allow storage operationsto proceed, traditional communications with storage manager 340 are usedinstead, so that data agent 142 can receive instructions from storagemanager 340, which are based in part on and comprise parameters frommanagement database 346 and NOT using local database 356/556. To executetraditional communications between data agent 142 and storage manager340, service 350/550 acts in a pass-through capacity in which messagingbetween data agent 142 and storage manager 340 travels overcommunication pathways 362/562 and 364/568 via service 350/550. In someembodiments when traditional communications are needed, data agent 142bypasses service 350/550 altogether and communicates directly withstorage manager 340.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 700 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, e.g., operating in a system 300. FIG. 7 is presented as afence diagram depicting two distinct components of illustrative system300: on the left—control distribution service 650 operating at storagemanager 340; and on the right—client storage service 350 operating at aclient 390. Method 700 depicts operations in system 300 that supportreads from client-based client management database 356 AND writeoperations to storage manager 340. As compared to the prior art, method700 reduces communications with storage manager 340 by serving readslocally at the client and limiting communications with storage manager340 when write operations arise from the data agent during storageoperations. This approach minimizes synchronization needs betweencentral and local databases.

At block 703, client storage service 350 notifies storage manager 340that a new client 390 is online. Thus, client 390 is available forinitialization of client management database 356. Control passes toblock 704. In a system 500, micro-server 501 notifies storage manager340 that a client in client group 580 is online.

At block 704, control distribution service 650 installs triggers tomanagement database 346, and obtains extracted client tables 673(“client view slices”) for the client 390/580. More details on block 704can be found in another figure. Control passes to block 706.

At block 706, control distribution service 650 transmits the “ClientView Slices” e.g., in the form of extracted client tables 673 includingcorresponding hash values, to initialize new client 390. More details oncontrol distribution service 650 is given in regard to FIG. 6. Controlpasses to block 711.

At block 711, client storage service 350 analyzes each received “ClientView Slice” (e.g., extracted client tables 673), including theaccompanying hash value. Service 350 computes its own hash value foreach received table 673. If service 350 determines that received hashvalues do not match the corresponding locally computed hashes, controlpasses to block 713. If service 350 determines that received hash valuesdo match the corresponding locally computed hashes, control passes toblock 731.

At block 713, which is reached when received hash values do not matchlocally computed hash values, client storage service 350 marks clientmanagement database 356 “invalid” or “invalidated” and notifies storagemanager 340 of the failed initialization/update. Illustratively, this isimplemented as a “Load_Requested” message from service 350 to service650, which results in an update request 674 being added to the workqueue at storage manager 340 at block 718. Control passes to block 715.

At block 715, client storage service 350 performs in its pass-throughcapacity to enable storage operations using “traditional communications”with storage manager 340 and based on management database 346, AND NOTusing client-based client management database 356. See alsocommunication pathway 114-DA in FIG. 6. Block 715 executes inconjunction with block 724 at the storage manager.

At block 718, control distribution service 650 queues update requests674 to the work queue at storage manager 340. Requests 674 are added tothe queue based on a variety of events from diverse sources, such as:

-   -   triggers activated at management database 346 (e.g., when a        system change is implemented, or a write operation received from        data agent 142),    -   Load_Requested messages arriving from clients 390 and/or        micro-servers 501 (e.g., after a failed initialization or after        a failed update),    -   periodic/scheduled synchronizations with clients 390 and/or        micro-servers 501,    -   etc. without limitation.        Control passes from block 718 to block 720.

Block 720 is illustratively executed when storage manager 340 detectsand/or becomes aware that a target is online and update request(s) forthe target are queued at the work queue; otherwise requests 674 for thegiven target remain queued. At block 720, control distribution service650 generates “Client View Slices” from capture table(s) 672 andgenerates extracted client table(s) 673, including the associated hashvalues. More details are given in regard to FIG. 6. Control passes toblock 722.

At block 722, control distribution service 650 pushes only those updatesdeemed to be “real” to client 390 or micro-server 501. More detailsabout block 722 are given in another figure herein. Control passes toblock 711.

At block 724, which executes in conjunction with block 715, controldistribution service 650 enables “traditional communications” betweenstorage manager 340 and the data agent(s) 142 operating at clients390/580. See also communication pathway 114-DA in FIG. 6. Block 724 alsoillustratively causes update requests 674 to be queued up at block 718.Thus, if a failed update or initialization causes the use of“traditional communications”, a new request is queued up for attemptinganother update/initialization so that the embodiment can operate in itspreferred distributed mode. Control passes to block 718.

At block 731, which is reached when received hash values match locallycomputed hash values, client storage service 350 initializes and/orupdates client management database 356. This comprises implementing allreceived data (e.g., rows in tables 673) according to the associatedoperation indicator, e.g., add, delete, update. If theinitialization/update is successful and the received data is fullyintegrated into local database 356/556, control passes to block 733, butif it fails, control passes back to block 713, as shown by the dottedarrow.

Block 733 is reached after client management database 356 issuccessfully initialized and/or updated, which means that the localdatabase 356/556 is deemed “valid” and operational. Accordingly, storageoperations are performed (e.g., by data agent 142) USING clientmanagement database 356 for serving read requests issued by data agent142 at the client. The storage operations performed here include storageoperations for data generated at client 390, e.g., for primary data 112(not shown here), and also involve a media agent 144 for storingsecondary copies to and restoring secondary copies from a storagedevice, e.g., 108. Accordingly, when data agent 142 is to be instructedon performing a storage operation, service 350 retrieves the necessaryparameters from client management database 356 rather than frommanagement database 346 at the storage manager. Also, when data agent142 requests a management database read, service 350 retrieves theresponse from client management database 356. According to theillustrative embodiment in method 700, storage manager 340 is used foraccommodating write operations arising from the storage operations, andtherefore control passes to block 735.

At block 735, client storage service 350 transmits to storage manager340 write operations arising from storage operations at client 390,i.e., writes supplied by data agent 142. For example, when a backup ofdata generated by client computing device 302 generates a timestamp forthe backup operation (e.g., a point-in-time marker for an incrementalbackup), the timestamp is transmitted to storage manager 340 and writtento management database 346, rather than being written to clientmanagement database 356. Control passes to block 740.

At block 740, control distribution service 650 receives the transmitteddata included in the write operation(s) from client 390 and updatesmanagement database 346 accordingly. Because management database 346undergoes an update here, control passes to block 718 to queue up anupdate for the client. Thus, according to method 700, write operationsat client 390 are first implemented at management database 346 atstorage manager 340, and are queued for delivery to client 390 in alater operation, e.g., synchronization.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 800 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, e.g., operating in a system 300. FIG. 8 is presented as afence diagram depicting two distinct components of illustrative system300: on the left—control distribution service 650 operating at storagemanager 340; and on the right—client storage service 350 operating at aclient 390. Method 800 depicts operations in system 300 that supportreads from and writes directly to client management database 356. Ascompared to the prior art, method 800 reduces communications withstorage manager 340 by serving data agent reads AND writes locally atthe client and limiting communications with storage manager 340, whichprovides more autonomy to client 390.

Method 800 is analogous to method 700 described in a preceding figure,with the exception of blocks 833 and 837, which are described below.Blocks 735 and 740 do not appear in method 800. In reference to theblocks carried over from method 700, they are to be read here in thecontext of method 800.

Block 833, which follows block 731, is reached after client managementdatabase 356 is successfully initialized and/or updated, which meansthat the local database 356/556 is deemed “valid” and operational.Accordingly, storage operations are performed (e.g., by data agent 142)USING client management database 356 for read requests and writeoperations issued by data agent 142 at the client. The storageoperations performed here include storage operations for data generatedat client 390, e.g., primary data 112 (not shown here), and also involvea media agent 144 for storing secondary copies to and restoringsecondary copies from a storage device, e.g., 108. Accordingly, whendata agent 142 is to be instructed on performing a storage operation,service 350 retrieves the necessary parameters from client managementdatabase 356 rather than from management database 346 at the storagemanager. When data agent 142 issues a write (e.g., point-in-time markerfor an incremental backup and/or other new data, without limitation),service 350 updates client management database 356 accordingly at block731 (see arrow from block 833 to block 731). Storage manager 340 andmanagement database 346 are not consulted and/or accessed for performingstorage operations for data generated at client 390. Control passes toblock 837.

At block 837, service 350 manages a backup of client management database356 in order to add robustness to the present client-based storagemanagement architecture. Accordingly, data agent 142 at client 390 isinstructed by service 350 to create a secondary copy of clientmanagement database 346; a media agent 144 stores the secondary copy toa storage device, e.g., 108.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 900 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention, e.g., operating in a system 500. FIG. 9 is presented as afence diagram depicting distinct components of illustrative system 300:on the left—control distribution service 650 operating at storagemanager 340; on the right—group storage service 550 operating at amicro-server 501 configured to serve client group 580; and at bottomright—data agents 142 operating in client group 580. Method 900 depictsoperations in system 500 that support reads from and writes toclient-group management database 556 residing at a micro-server 501 thatis configured to serve the client group 580. As compared to the priorart, method 900 reduces communications with storage manager 340 byserving data agent reads AND writes locally from micro-server 501 andlimiting communications with storage manager 340.

Method 900 uses several blocks described in method 700 and/or 800, withthe exception of blocks 906, 913, 915, 920, 931, 933, and 937 which aredescribed below. In reference to the blocks carried over from method 700and/or 800 (703, 704, 711, 718, 722, 724), they are to be read here inthe context of method 900 and system 500. For example, at block 703,service 550 notifies storage manager 340 that one or more new clients inclient group 580 are online, and control passes to block 704.

At block 906, which follows block 704, control distribution service 650transmits “Client View Slices” e.g., in the form of extracted clienttables 673 including corresponding hash values to initialize a newclient at micro-server 501. More details on control distribution service650 is given in regard to FIG. 6. Control passes to block 711.

At block 913, which is reached when received hash values do not matchlocally computed hash values at block 711, group storage service 550marks client-group management database 556 “invalid” or “invalidated”and notifies storage manager 340 of the failed initialization/update.Illustratively, this is implemented as a “Load_Requested” message fromservice 550 to service 650, which results in an update request 674 beingadded to the work queue at storage manager 340 (at block 718). Controlpasses to block 915.

At block 915, group storage service 550 performs in its pass-throughcapacity to enable storage operations using “traditional communications”with storage manager 340 and based on management database 346, AND NOTusing client-group management database 556. Accordingly, data agents 142(operating at clients in client group 580) communicate to and fromstorage manager 340 via service 550, and media agents 144 alsocommunicate with storage manager 340. See also communication pathway114-DA in FIG. 6. Block 715 executes in conjunction with block 724 atthe storage manager.

Block 920, which follows block 718, is illustratively executed whenstorage manager 340 detects and/or becomes aware that a client in clientgroup 580 is online and update request(s) for the client are queued atthe work queue; otherwise requests 674 for the client remain queued. Atblock 920, control distribution service 650 generates “Client ViewSlices” from capture table(s) 672 and generates extracted clienttable(s) 673, including the associated hash values. More details aregiven in regard to FIG. 6. Control passes to block 722 and from there toblock 711.

At block 931, which is reached when received hash values match locallycomputed hash values at block 711, group storage service 550 initializesand/or updates its local client-group management database 556. Thiscomprises implementing all received data (e.g., rows in tables 673)according to the associated operation indicator, e.g., add, delete,update operations. If the initialization/update is successful and thereceived data is fully integrated into local database 556, controlpasses to block 933, but if it fails, control passes back to block 913(arrow not shown here for simplicity).

Block 933, which follows block 931, is reached after client-groupmanagement database 556 is successfully initialized and/or updated,which means that the local database 556 is deemed “valid” andoperational. Accordingly, storage operations are performed (e.g., bydata agents 142 at clients in client group 580) USING client-groupmanagement database 556 for read requests and write operations issued bythe data agents 142. The storage operations performed here includestorage operations for data generated at clients in group 580, e.g., forprimary data 112 (not shown here), and also involve media agent(s) 144for storing secondary copies to and restoring secondary copies from astorage device, e.g., 108. Accordingly, when data agent 142 is to beinstructed on performing a storage operation, service 550 retrieves thenecessary parameters from client-group management database 556 ratherthan from management database 346 at the storage manager. When dataagent 142 issues a write (e.g., point-in-time marker for an incrementalbackup and/or other new data, without limitation), service 550 updatesclient-group management database 556 accordingly (see arrow to block931). Storage manager 340 and management database 346 are not consultedand/or accessed for performing storage operations at this point. Controlpasses to block 937.

At block 937, service 550 manages a backup of client-group managementdatabase 556 in order to add robustness to the presentmicroservices-based storage management architecture. Accordingly, a dataagent 142 at micro-server 501 (not shown here) is instructed to create asecondary copy of client-group management database 556 and a media agent144 stores the secondary copy to a storage device, e.g., 108.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations of block704 in method 700, 800, and/or 900. Block 704 is performed by controldistribution service 650 at storage manager 340 (see, e.g., FIGS. 7, 8,9), except as otherwise noted. Block 704 is generally directed toinstalling client triggers into management database 346 and obtaining“Client View Slices” for one or more new client 390/580. Block 704 is tobe read in the context of operating in a system 300 with individualclients 390 or in the context of a system 500 with micro-server(s) 501serving client group(s) 580, or any combination thereof withoutlimitation.

At block 1020, control distribution service 650 identifies all clientssuitable for client-based and/or microservices (group) storagemanagement, e.g., via client-by-client or group administrative parameterand/or by default designating certain/all clients 390/580.

At block 1022, for each identified client 390/580, control distributionservice 650 finds table(s) in management database 346 that comprise datarelating to the client. There is no limit on how many tables are found.See also FIG. 6.

At block 1024, control distribution service 650 marks each found tablewith a trigger for tracking changes that occur in the table. See alsoFIG. 6.

Blocks 1022 and 1024 also execute spontaneously when an administrativechange is implemented at management database 346, e.g., by anadministrator, by a system upgrade and/or new feature. The storagemanager (e.g., using service 650) comprises new features for propagatingpolicy changes to appropriate sections of management database 346pertaining to clients 390/580 that operate according to the newarchitectures. For example, if an administrator adds/changes a policy(e.g., a schedule policy or a backup window) that affects severalclients, the storage manager identifies all affected clients 390/580 andupdates triggers accordingly to any tables comprising information forthose clients 390/580 in management database 346. No such triggers areset for traditional clients that are not clients 390 or not in a clientgroup 580. See also FIG. 6.

At block 1026, control distribution service 650 creates respectivecapture tables 672 comprising triggered rows that changed for any andall clients in the table. Thus, if a table has a trigger and service 650detects a change in a row associated with a client 390/580, that changedrow is captured (e.g., copied) into capture table 572. In someembodiments, service 650 (i.e., the trigger set up at the table) doesnot distinguish between clients 390/580 and other clients, and adds intocapture table 672 any row that changes in a table with a trigger.

At block 1028, from each capture table 672, control distribution service650 extracts rows for the present client 390/580 into an extractedclient table 673, adds an operation indicator to each row therein, andwhen the table 673 is completed, computes a hash value for the extractedclient table 673.

At block 1030, control distribution service 650 retains the table hashvalue for future use in pushing “real” updates at block 722. The hashvalues and extracted client tables 673 are illustratively retained inmanagement database 346.

At block 1032, control distribution service 650 repeats for each clientin client group 580, passing control back to block 1028.

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations of block722 in method 700, 800, 900 and/or 1200. Block 722 is performed bycontrol distribution service 650 at storage manager 340 (see, e.g.,FIGS. 7, 8, 9, 12), except as otherwise noted. Block 722 is generallydirected to identifying and transmitting “real” updates to micro-server501 and/or client 390. Block 722 is to be read in the context ofoperating in a system 300 with individual clients 390 or in the contextof a system 500 with micro-server(s) 501 serving client group(s) 580, orany combination thereof without limitation.

At block 1103, from each capture table 672, control distribution service650 extracts rows for the present client 390/580 into an extractedclient table 673, adds an operation indicator to each row therein, andwhen the table 673 is completed, computes a hash value for the extractedclient table 673. See also block 1028.

At block 1105, for each extracted client table 673, control distributionservice 650 compares the hash value to a preceding hash value computedthe last time a corresponding extracted client table 673 was created,e.g., for the present client 390/580. See also block 1030, where thepreceding hash values were retained.

At block 1106, control distribution service 650 determines whether thehash value changed, and if it did not control passes to block 1114. Ifthe hash value changed, control passes to block 1108.

At block 1108, which is reached only when the hash value for a givenextracted client table 673 changed at block 1106, control distributionservice 650 concludes that the present update of the “Client View Slice”is “real” and not duplicative and therefore should be communicated toclient 390/580. Control passes back to block 1103 for processing thenext update for the same target client 390/580, e.g., for anotherextracted client table 673.

At block 1110, control distribution service 650 packages all “real”updates (e.g., extracted client tables 673 with their corresponding hashvalues) for transmission to client 390 and/or micro-server 501.

At block 1112, control distribution service 650 pushes (e.g., initiatestransmission of) only “real” updates of “Client View Slices” (e.g.,implemented as extracted client tables 673 and accompanying hash values)to client 390 or micro-server 501.

At block 1114, which is reached only when no change in hash value isdetected at block 1106, control distribution service 650 concludes thatthe update of the “Client View Slice” is not “real,” meaning that thedata written to management database 346 is unchanged as compared to thepreceding value. The change is duplicative. Accordingly, no update needbe sent to client 390 and/or micro-server 501, and no further action isrequired in regard to the present “Client View Slice.” This has theeffect of limiting how often and how much data is transmitted fromstorage manager 340. Control passes back to block 1103 for processingthe next update.

In some embodiments, though not expressly shown in the figures herein,block 722 is executed in method 700 as part of block 735 and/or inmethod 1200 as part of block 1203. In such scenarios, client 390 and/ormicro-server 501 refrains from transmitting information to storagemanager 340 that is unchanged from a prior transmission, and thereforeblock 722 can be read in these contexts as well.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram depicting certain salient operations in amethod 1200 according to an illustrative embodiment of the presentinvention e.g., operating in a system 300 and/or system 500. Method 1200depicts operations in system 300/500 for synchronizing clients 390and/or micro-servers 501, respectively, with centralized managementdatabase 346. FIG. 12 is presented as a fence diagram depicting twodistinct components of illustrative system 300/500: on the left—controldistribution service 650 operating at storage manager 340; on theright—client storage service 350 operating at a client 390 and/or groupstorage service 550 operating at micro-server 501. In the present figurethe term “local management database” refers, depending on context, toclient management database 356 at client 390 or to client-groupmanagement database 556 at micro-server 501.

Some of the blocks in method 1200 were described in regard to earlierfigures, and should be read here in the context of the present figure.Blocks 1203, 1204, 1223, and 1250 are described below.

At block 1203, client storage service 350 and/or group storage service550 periodically, e.g., daily, reports locally computed hashes tostorage manager 340. Illustratively a hash value for every row in everytable of the local management database 356/556 is reported here. Otherschemes for hashing and/or analyzing the contents of local managementdatabase 356/556 are used in other embodiments.

At block 1204, control distribution service 650 receives the hash valuesand compares them to corresponding hash values for corresponding data atmanagement database 346. When they match, service 650 concludes thatlocal database 356/556 contains no changed information and controlpasses to block 1250. When hash values do not match their counterpartsin management database 346, service 650 concludes that local database356/556 comprises information different from management database 346 andcontrol passes to block 720/920, where service 650 obtains updatedclient view slices (e.g., tables 673); control then passes to block 722for pushing “real” updates to client 390 and/or micro-server 501; inturn, at block 1223 (which is a mirror image of block 722), service350/550 pushes its own “real” updates to storage manager 340.Accordingly, block 722 and 1223 together cause the local database356/556 to exchange updated information and to synchronize withmanagement database 346. Block 1223 is followed by block 711, whichforks to block 713/913 or block 731/931.

Block 713/913 passes control to block 718 for queueing updates and toblock 715/915 for pass-through storage operations in conjunction withblock 724 at the storage manager. Block 724 passes control to block 718for queueing updates, which in turn passes control to block 720/920 fortaking updates of “client view slices.” Block 731/931, which is reachedfrom block 711, updates local database 356/556 and passes control toblock 733/833/933 for performing storage operations USING the updateslocal management database 356/556.

At block 1250, which is reached when service 650 concludes that localdatabase 356/556 contains no changed information relative to managementdatabase 346, no further action is required.

In sum, method 1200 enables the storage manager to synchronize itsmanagement database 346 with local databases 356/556. Thissynchronization is performed periodically, e.g., daily. In otherembodiments, the synchronization is performed occasionally, e.g., when aclient 390 comes online.

In regard to the figures described herein, other embodiments arepossible within the scope of the present invention, such that theabove-recited components, steps, blocks, operations, messages, requests,queries, and/or instructions are differently arranged, sequenced,sub-divided, organized, and/or combined. In some embodiments, adifferent component may initiate or execute a given operation. Althoughhash functions and hash values are recited in regard to FIGS. 3-12, inalternative embodiments a different method or methods are used forassuring data integrity and data identity, e.g., checksums, withoutlimitation.

Example Embodiments

Some example enumerated embodiments of the present invention are recitedin this section in the form of methods, systems, and non-transitorycomputer-readable media, without limitation.

An example embodiment comprises a data storage management system formanaging storage operations from clients instead of centrally managingfrom a storage manager, the system comprising: a first client comprisinga first computing device, a client storage service, a client managementdatabase, and a data agent associated with data generated by the firstcomputing device; a second computing device comprising a storage managerand a management database that comprises information for managingstorage operations at a plurality of clients in the data storagemanagement system, including the first client; and wherein the clientstorage service, which executes on the first computing device isconfigured to: (i) incorporate one or more portions of the managementdatabase that are received from the storage manager into the clientmanagement database at the first computing device, wherein each receivedportion comprises information that relates to the first client, and (ii)manage storage operations for data generated by the first computingdevice by using the client management database at the first client toserve the data agent.

The above-recited data storage management system, wherein each receivedportion comprises information that relates to the first client and notto other clients in the plurality of clients. The above-recited datastorage management system, wherein the client storage service is furtherconfigured to perform the (i) incorporate and (ii) manage operationsonly after determining that, for each portion of the management databasereceived from the storage manager: a first hash value corresponding tothe portion and supplied by the storage manager matches a second hashvalue corresponding to the portion and computed by the client storageservice at the first client. The above-recited data storage managementsystem, wherein the storage manager is configured to transmit a givenportion of the management database to the first client only if a firsthash value corresponding to the given portion and presently computed bythe storage manager differs from a second hash value corresponding tothe given portion and previously computed by the storage manager; andwherein the storage manager is further configured to refrain fromtransmitting the given portion to the first client if the first hashvalue matches the second hash value, thereby reducing communicationsbetween the first client and the storage manager. The above-recited datastorage management system, wherein the client storage service is furtherconfigured to transmit an update to a given portion of the clientmanagement database to the storage manager, only if a first hash valuecorresponding to the given portion of the client management database andpresently computed by the client storage service differs from a secondhash value corresponding to the given portion and previously computed bythe client storage service; and wherein the client storage service isfurther configured to refrain from transmitting the given portion to thestorage manager if the first hash value matches the second hash value,thereby reducing communications between the first client and the storagemanager. The above-recited data storage management system, wherein thedata agent at the first client does not communicate with the storagemanager for performing the storage operations for data generated by thefirst computing device. The above-recited data storage managementsystem, wherein the client storage service manages the storageoperations for data generated by the first computing device by at leastone of: issuing instructions to the data agent, serving reads to thedata agent from the client management database, and serving writesissued by the data agent into the client management database. Theabove-recited data storage management system, wherein the managementdatabase at the storage manager and the client management database atthe first client periodically synchronize with each other based onhaving compatible schemas. The above-recited data storage managementsystem, wherein each of the management database and the clientmanagement database is a relational database, and each portion of themanagement database is a row in a table therein having a schemacompatible with the client management database. The above-recited datastorage management system, wherein if the client storage servicedetermines that, for at least one portion received from the storagemanager, a first hash value corresponding to the at least one portionand supplied by the storage manager differs from a second hash valuecorresponding to the at least one portion and presently computed by theclient storage service at the first client, the client storage serviceis further configured to: (a) notify the storage manager of a failedupdate at the first client, (b) decline to use the client managementdatabase to serve the data agent at the first client for performingstorage operations for data generated by the first computing device, and(c) enable communications between the storage manager and the data agentat the first client for performing storage operations for data generatedby the first computing device. The above-recited data storage managementsystem, wherein, in response to being notified of the failed update atthe first client, the storage manager queues up a request for updatingthe first client.

Another example embodiment comprises a non-transitory computer-readablemedium storing instructions, that when executed by a first computingdevice, cause the first computing device to perform a method comprising:by a client storage service that executes on the first computing device,receive from a storage manager one or more portions of a managementdatabase, wherein each received portion comprises information thatrelates to a first client, wherein the first client comprises the firstcomputing device, the client storage service, a client managementdatabase, and a data agent associated with data generated by the firstcomputing device, and wherein a second computing device comprises thestorage manager and the management database, which comprises informationfor managing storage operations at a plurality of clients in the datastorage management system, including the first client; and by the clientstorage service that executes on the first computing device: (i)incorporate one or more portions of the management database that arereceived from the storage manager into the client management database atthe first computing device, and (ii) manage storage operations for datagenerated by the first computing device by using the client managementdatabase at the first client to serve the data agent. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the client storageservice is further configured to perform the (i) incorporate and (ii)manage operations only after determining that, for each portion of themanagement database received from the storage manager: a first hashvalue corresponding to the portion and supplied by the storage managermatches a second hash value corresponding to the portion and computed bythe client storage service at the first client. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the client storageservice is further configured to transmit an update to a given portionof the client management database to the storage manager, only if afirst hash value corresponding to the given portion of the clientmanagement database and presently computed by the client storage servicediffers from a second hash value corresponding to the given portion andpreviously computed by the client storage service; and wherein theclient storage service is further configured to refrain fromtransmitting the given portion to the storage manager if the first hashvalue matches the second hash value, thereby reducing communicationsbetween the first client and the storage manager. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the data agent at thefirst client does not communicate with the storage manager forperforming the storage operations for data generated by the firstcomputing device. The above-recited non-transitory computer-readablemedium, wherein the client storage service manages the storageoperations for data generated by the first computing device by at leastone of: issuing instructions to the data agent, serving reads to thedata agent from the client management database, and serving writesissued by the data agent into the client management database. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein theclient storage service causes the client management database at thefirst client to synchronize with the management database at the storagemanager based on the databases having compatible schemas. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein each ofthe management database and the client management database is arelational database, and each portion of the management database is arow in a table therein having a schema compatible with the clientmanagement database. The above-recited non-transitory computer-readablemedium, wherein if the client storage service determines that, for atleast one portion received from the storage manager, a first hash valuecorresponding to the at least one portion and supplied by the storagemanager differs from a second hash value corresponding to the at leastone portion and presently computed by the client storage service at thefirst client, the client storage service is further configured to: (a)notify the storage manager of a failed update at the first client, (b)decline to use the client management database to serve the data agent atthe first client for performing storage operations for data generated bythe first computing device, and (c) enable communications between thestorage manager and the data agent at the first client for performingstorage operations for data generated by the first computing device. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein, inresponse to being notified of the failed update at the first client, thestorage manager queues up a request for updating the first client.

Yet another example embodiment comprises a method for managing storageoperations from clients instead of centrally managing from a storagemanager in a data storage management system, the method comprising: by aclient storage service that executes on the first computing device,receive from a storage manager one or more portions of a managementdatabase, wherein each received portion comprises information thatrelates to a first client, wherein the first client comprises the firstcomputing device, the client storage service, a client managementdatabase, and a data agent associated with data generated by the firstcomputing device, and wherein a second computing device comprises thestorage manager and the management database, which comprises informationfor managing storage operations at a plurality of clients in the datastorage management system, including the first client; and by the clientstorage service that executes on the first computing device: (i)incorporating one or more portions of the management database that arereceived from the storage manager into the client management database atthe first computing device, and (ii) managing storage operations fordata generated by the first computing device by using the clientmanagement database at the first client to serve the data agent; andwherein the data agent at the first client does not communicate with thestorage manager for performing the storage operations for data generatedby the first computing device.

The above-recited method further comprising: by the storage manager,setting a trigger for detecting changes in a first table in themanagement database that comprises information pertaining to the firstclient; by the storage manager, copying into a capture table one or morerows that changed in the first table; and by the storage manager andwhen the first client is online, extracting from the capture table intoan extracted client table each row that comprises information pertainingto the first client. The above-recited method further comprising: by thestorage manager, adding an operation indicator to each row in theextracted client table, wherein the operation indicator indicateswhether the row comprises changed information, new information, orinformation marked deleted; and applying a hash function to theextracted client table, resulting in a first hash value.

The above-recited method, wherein the client storage service is furtherconfigured to perform the (i) incorporating and (ii) managing operationsonly after determining that, for each portion of the management databasereceived from the storage manager: a first hash value corresponding tothe portion and supplied by the storage manager matches a second hashvalue corresponding to the portion and computed by the client storageservice at the first client. The above-recited method, wherein thestorage manager is configured to transmit a given portion of themanagement database to the first client only if a first hash valuecorresponding to the given portion and presently computed by the storagemanager differs from a second hash value corresponding to the givenportion and previously computed by the storage manager; and wherein thestorage manager is further configured to refrain from transmitting thegiven portion to the first client if the first hash value matches thesecond hash value, thereby reducing communications between the firstclient and the storage manager. The above-recited method, wherein theclient storage service is further configured to transmit an update to agiven portion of the client management database to the storage manager,only if a first hash value corresponding to the given portion of theclient management database and presently computed by the client storageservice differs from a second hash value corresponding to the givenportion and previously computed by the client storage service; andwherein the client storage service is further configured to refrain fromtransmitting the given portion to the storage manager if the first hashvalue matches the second hash value, thereby reducing communicationsbetween the first client and the storage manager. The above-recitedmethod, wherein the data agent at the first client does not communicatewith the storage manager for performing the storage operations for datagenerated by the first computing device. The above-recited method,wherein the client storage service manages the storage operations fordata generated by the first computing device by at least one of: issuinginstructions to the data agent, and serving reads to the data agent fromthe client management database. The above-recited method, wherein theclient storage service manages the storage operations for data generatedby the first computing device by at least one of: issuing instructionsto the data agent, serving reads to the data agent from the clientmanagement database, and serving writes issued by the data agent intothe client management database. The above-recited method, wherein theclient storage service causes the client management database at thefirst client to synchronize with the management database at the storagemanager based on the databases having compatible schemas. Theabove-recited method, wherein each of the management database and theclient management database is a relational database, and each portion ofthe management database is a row in a table therein having a schemacompatible with the client management database. The above-recitedmethod, wherein if the client storage service determines that, for atleast one portion received from the storage manager, a first hash valuecorresponding to the at least one portion and supplied by the storagemanager differs from a second hash value corresponding to the at leastone portion and presently computed by the client storage service at thefirst client, the client storage service is further configured to: (a)notify the storage manager of a failed update at the first client, (b)decline to use the client management database to serve the data agent atthe first client for performing storage operations for data generated bythe first computing device, and (c) enable communications between thestorage manager and the data agent at the first client for performingstorage operations for data generated by the first computing device. Theabove-recited method, wherein, in response to being notified of thefailed update at the first client, the storage manager queues up arequest for updating the first client.

An illustrative embodiment comprises a method for distributingmanagement of storage operations from a storage manager to a client in adata storage management system, the method comprising: by a storagemanager, transmitting one or more portions of a management database to aclient storage service that executes on a first computing device,wherein each portion comprises information that relates to a firstclient in the data storage management system, wherein the firstcomputing device comprises one or more processors and computer memoryand hosts a client management database, wherein the first clientcomprises the first computing device, the client storage service, aclient management database, and a first data agent associated with datagenerated by the first client, and wherein the storage manager executeson a second computing device that comprises one or more processors andcomputer memory, and wherein the storage manager comprises themanagement database, which comprises information for managing storageoperations at a plurality of clients in the data storage managementsystem, including the first client; by the storage manager, computingand transmitting a first hash value for each of the one or more portionstransmitted to the client storage service at the first client; by thegroup storage service at the first client, computing a second hash valuefor each portion received from the storage manager; and if the groupstorage service determines that, for each received portion the secondhash value matches the corresponding first hash value received from thestorage manager, (i) incorporating the received one or more portionsinto the client management database at the first computing device, and(ii) managing storage operations for the first client, based on usingthe client management database, thereby distributing management of thestorage operations for the first client from the storage manager to thefirst client at the first computing device.

The above-recited method wherein the transmitting of the one or moreportions of the management database by the storage manager is based on arespective trigger at each of the one or more portions indicating thatthe respective portion underwent a changes since a precedingtransmission by the storage manager. The above-recited method furthercomprising: after the one or more portions are incorporated into theclient management database, re-setting the respective trigger at each ofthe one or more portions of the management database to detect futurechanges to the respective portion. The above-recited method wherein thefirst data agent at the first client communicates with the clientstorage service for performing the storage operations for the firstclient, and further wherein the first data agent does not communicatewith the storage manager for performing the storage operations for thefirst client. The above-recited method wherein the first data agent atthe first client communicates read requests to the client storageservice for performing storage operations for the first client, whichread requests are served by the client storage service from the clientmanagement database, and wherein the first data agent communicates writeoperations with the client storage service for performing the storageoperations for the first client, which are written by the client storageservice to the client management database. The above-recited methodwherein the management database at the storage manager is synchronizedwith data from the client management database, based on the clientmanagement database and the management database having compatibleschemas. The above-recited method wherein each of the managementdatabase and the client-group management database is a relationaldatabase, wherein the management database and the client managementdatabase have compatible schemas, and further wherein each portion ofthe management database is a row in a table. The above-recited methodfurther comprising: if the client storage service determines that, forat least one portion received from the storage manager, the second hashvalue does not match the corresponding first hash value received fromthe storage manager, (a) notifying the storage manager of a failedupdate, (b) declining to use the client management database, and (c)enabling communications between the storage manager and the first dataagent for performing storage operations without using the clientmanagement database. The above-recited method further comprising: if theclient storage service determines that, for at least one portionreceived from the storage manager, the second hash value does not matchthe corresponding first hash value received from the storage manager,(a) notifying the storage manager of a failed update, (b) declining touse the client management database, and (c) enabling communicationsbetween the storage manager and the first data agent for performingstorage operations without using the client management database; and ifthe group storage service determines that, for each of a subsequent setof portions received from the storage manager, the second hash valuematches the corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager, (i) incorporating the subsequent set of portions into theclient management database at the first computing device, and (ii)managing storage operations for the first client, based on using theclient management database, thereby distributing management of thestorage operations for the first client from the storage manager to theclient storage service at the first client.

An embodiment comprises a data storage management system for managingstorage operations by a service interposed between clients and a storagemanager instead of centrally managing the storage operations from thestorage manager in a data storage management system, the systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising a group storage serviceand a client-group management database; a client-group, wherein eachclient in the client-group comprises a second computing device and adata agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; and wherein the group storage service that executes on thefirst computing device is configured to: (i) incorporate one or moreportions of the management database that are received from the storagemanager into the client-group management database at the first computingdevice, wherein each received portion comprises information pertainingto at least one client in the client-group but not to other clients inthe plurality of clients, and (ii) use the client-group managementdatabase to serve a first data agent at a first client in theclient-group for performing storage operations for data generated by thefirst client.

The above-recited data storage management system, wherein the groupclient service is further configured to manage one or more backupstorage operations for the client-group management database. Theabove-recited data storage management system, wherein the group clientservice is further configured to manage the storage operations for datagenerated by the first client by using the client-group managementdatabase. The above-recited data storage management system, wherein thegroup storage service at the first computing device is furtherconfigured to manage the storage operations for data generated by thefirst client by using the client-group management database, and furtherwherein the first data agent does not communicate with the storagemanager for performing the storage operations for data generated by thefirst client. The above-recited data storage management system, whereinthe group storage service is further configure to manager the storageoperations for data generated by the first client by at least one of:issuing instructions to the first data agent at the first client,serving reads to the first data agent at the first client from theclient-group management database, and serving write operations issued bythe first data agent at the first client by writing them into theclient-group management database. The above-recited data storagemanagement system, wherein the management database at the storagemanager and the client-group management database synchronize with eachother based on having compatible schemas. The above-recited data storagemanagement system, wherein each of the management database and theclient-group management database is a relational database, wherein themanagement database and the client-group management database havecompatible schemas, and further wherein each portion of the managementdatabase is a table. The above-recited data storage management system,wherein the storage manager is configured to: set a trigger fordetecting changes in a first table in the management database, whereinthe first table comprises information pertaining to at least one clientin the client-group. The above-recited data storage management systemwherein the storage manager is configured to copy into a capture tableone or more rows that changed in the first table; and extract from thecapture table into an extracted client table each row that pertains tothe first client, wherein the extracted client table is one of the oneor more portions. The above-recited data storage management system,wherein the storage manager is further configured to: add to each row inthe extracted client table an operation indicator that indicates whetherthe row represents changed data, new data, or deleted data, wherein theoperation indicator is used by the group storage service for theincorporate operation. The above-recited data storage management system,wherein the storage manager is further configured to: apply a hashfunction to the extracted client table, resulting in a first hash valueto be used by the group storage service when receiving the extractedclient table as one of the one or more portions of the managementdatabase. The above-recited data storage management system, wherein ifthe group storage service determines that, for at least one portionreceived from the storage manager, a second hash value computed by thegroup storage service does not match a corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, the group storage service is furtherconfigured to: (a) notify the storage manager of a failed update, (b)decline to use the client-group management database for managing storageoperations for the clients in the client-group, and (c) enablecommunications between the first data agent at the first client and thestorage manager for performing the storage operations for data generatedby the first client. The above-recited data storage management system,wherein in response to being notified of the failed update by the groupstorage service, the storage manager is further configured to queue up arequest for updating the first client.

According to another embodiment, a method for distributing management ofstorage operations from a storage manager to a service interposedbetween clients and the storage manager in a data storage managementsystem, the method comprising: by a storage manager, transmitting one ormore portions of a management database to a group storage service thatexecutes on a first computing device, wherein each portion comprisesinformation that relates to at least one client in a client-group,wherein the first computing device comprises one or more processors andcomputer memory and hosts a client-group management database, whereineach client in the client-group comprises a second computing device withone or more processors and computer memory and further comprises a dataagent that executes thereon, and wherein the storage manager executes ona third computing device, and wherein the storage manager comprises themanagement database, which comprises information for managing storageoperations at a plurality of clients in the data storage managementsystem, including the clients in the client-group; by the storagemanager, computing and transmitting a first hash value for each of theone or more portions to the group storage service; by the group storageservice at the first computing device, computing a second hash value foreach portion received from the storage manager; and if the group storageservice determines that, for each received portion the second hash valuematches the corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager, (i) incorporating the received one or more portions into theclient-group management database at the first computing device, and (ii)managing storage operations for the clients in the client-group, basedon using the client-group management database, thereby distributingmanagement of the storage operations for the clients in the client-groupfrom the storage manager to the group storage service at the firstcomputing device.

The above-recited method, wherein a first data agent at a first clientof the client group communicates with the group storage service forperforming storage operations for data generated by the first client,and further wherein the first data agent does not communicate with thestorage manager for performing the storage operations for data generatedby the first client. The above-recited method, wherein a first dataagent at a first client of the client group communicates read requeststo the group storage service for performing storage operations for datagenerated by the first client, which read requests are served by thegroup storage service from the client-group management database, andwherein the first data agent communicates write operations with thegroup storage service for performing the storage operations for the datagenerated by the first client, which are written by the group storageservice into the client-group management database. The above-recitedmethod, further comprising: if the group storage service determinesthat, for at least one portion received from the storage manager, thesecond hash value does not match the corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, (a) notifying the storage manager ofa failed update, which causes the storage manager to queue an updaterequest for the first client, (b) declining to use the client-groupmanagement database, and (c) enabling communications between data agentsat the clients in the client-group and the storage manager forperforming storage operations without using the client-group managementdatabase. The above-recited method, further comprising: if the groupstorage service determines that, for at least one portion received fromthe storage manager, the second hash value does not match thecorresponding first hash value received from the storage manager, (a)notifying the storage manager of a failed update, (b) declining to usethe client-group management database, and (c) enabling communicationsbetween data agents at the clients in the client-group and the storagemanager for performing storage operations without using the client-groupmanagement database; and if the group storage service determines that,in a subsequent set of portions received from the storage manager, foreach received portion the second hash value matches the correspondingfirst hash value received from the storage manager, (i) incorporatingthe received one or more portions of the subsequent set into theclient-group management database at the first computing device, (ii)managing storage operations for the clients in the client group, basedon using the client-group management database, and (iii) disablingcommunications between the data agents at the clients in theclient-group and the storage manager.

According to yet another example embodiment, a data storage managementsystem for distributing management of storage operations from a storagemanager to a service interposed between clients and the storage manager,the system comprising: a first computing device comprising a groupstorage service and a client-group management database, wherein thegroup storage service is associated with a client-group, and whereineach client in the client-group comprises a second computing device anda data agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; wherein the storage manager is configured to transmit oneor more portions of the management database to the group storage serviceon the first computing device, wherein each portion comprisesinformation that relates to one or more clients in the client-group, andwherein each portion is accompanied by a first hash value; wherein thegroup storage service at the first computing device is configured tocompute a second hash value for each portion received from the storagemanager; and wherein based on determining that for each received portionthe second hash value matches the corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, the group storage service is furtherconfigured to: (i) incorporate the received one or more portions intothe client-group management database at the first computing device, and(ii) manage storage operations for the clients in the client-group,based on using the client-group management database, therebydistributing management of the storage operations for the clients in theclient-group from the storage manager to the group storage service atthe first computing device.

The above-recited data storage management system, wherein each portionis an extracted client table, and wherein the storage manager is furtherconfigured to: set a trigger for detecting changes in a first table inthe management database, wherein the first table comprises informationpertaining to at least one client in the client-group; copy into acapture table one or more rows that changed in the first table; andextract from the capture table into the extracted client table each rowthat pertains to at least one client in the client-group. Theabove-recited data storage management system, wherein the storagemanager is further configured to: add to each row in the extractedclient table an operation indicator that indicates whether the rowrepresents changed data, new data, or deleted data, wherein theoperation indicator is used by the group storage service for theincorporate operation; and apply a hash function to the extracted clienttable, resulting in the first hash value.

An example embodiment comprises a data storage management system formanaging storage operations by a service interposed between clients anda storage manager instead of centrally managing the storage operationsfrom the storage manager in a data storage management system, the systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising a group storage serviceand a client-group management database; a client-group, wherein eachclient in the client-group comprises a second computing device and adata agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group wherein the group storage service that executes on a firstcomputing device is configured to: (i) incorporate the received one ormore portions into the client-group management database at the firstcomputing device, and (ii) use the client-group management database toserve a first data agent at a first client in the client-group forperforming storage operations for data generated by the first client.The above-recited data storage management system wherein the groupstorage service is further configured to, before it incorporates thereceived one or more portions into the client-group management database:(a) receive one or more portions of a management database, wherein eachportion comprises information that relates to one or more clients in theclient-group, (b) receive from the storage manager a first hash valuecorresponding to each received portion, (c) compute a second hash valuefor each received portion, and (i) incorporate the received one or moreportions into the client-group management database, and (ii) use theclient-group management database only if the group storage servicedetermines that, for each received portion, the second hash valuematches the corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager.

In another example embodiment, a data storage management system formanaging storage operations by a service interposed between clients anda storage manager instead of centrally managing the storage operationsfrom the storage manager in a data storage management system, the systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising a group storage serviceand a client-group management database; a client-group, wherein eachclient in the client-group comprises a second computing device and adata agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; wherein the group storage service that executes on a firstcomputing device is configured to: receive one or more portions of amanagement database, wherein each portion comprises information thatrelates to one or more clients in the client-group, receive from thestorage manager a first hash value corresponding to each receivedportion, compute a second hash value for each received portion, and ifthe group storage service determines that, for each received portion,the second hash value matches the corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, the group storage service isconfigured to: (i) incorporate the received one or more portions intothe client-group management database at the first computing device, and(ii) use the client-group management database to serve a first dataagent at a first client in the client-group for performing storageoperations for data generated by the first client.

The above-recited data storage management system wherein the groupstorage service at the first computing device manages the storageoperations for data generated by the first client using the client-groupmanagement database. The above-recited data storage management systemwherein the group storage service at the first computing device managesthe storage operations for data generated by the first client using theclient-group management database, and further wherein the first dataagent does not communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited data storage management system wherein the group storageservice at the first computing device manages the storage operations fordata generated by the first client the client-group management database,and further wherein the first data agent does not communicate readrequests to the storage manager for performing the storage operationsfor data generated by the first client. The above-recited data storagemanagement system wherein the first data agent does not communicate readrequests to the storage manager for performing the storage operationsstorage operations for data generated by the first client and doescommunicate write operations to the storage manager for performing thestorage operations storage operations for data generated by the firstclient. The above-recited data storage management system wherein theclient-group management database has a first schema that is compatiblewith a second schema for the management database. The above-recited datastorage management system wherein the management database at the storagemanager is synchronized with data from the client-group managementdatabase, based on the client-group management database and themanagement database having compatible schemas. The above-recited datastorage management system wherein each of the management database andthe client-group management database is a relational database, whereinthe management database and the client-group management database havecompatible schemas, and further wherein each portion of the managementdatabase is a row in a table. The above-recited data storage managementsystem wherein if the group storage service determines that, for atleast one portion received from the storage manager, the second hashvalue does not match the corresponding first hash value received fromthe storage manager, the group storage service is further configured to:(a) notify the storage manager of a failed update, (b) decline to usethe client-group management database for managing storage operations forthe clients in the client-group, and (c) enable the first data agent atthe first client to communicate with the storage manager for performingthe storage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited data storage management system wherein if the groupstorage service determines that, for at least one portion received fromthe storage manager, the second hash value does not match thecorresponding first hash value received from the storage manager, thegroup storage service is further configured to: (a) notify the storagemanager of a failed update, (b) decline to use the client-groupmanagement database for managing storage operations for the clients inthe client-group, and (c) enable the first data agent at the firstclient to communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client until thegroup storage service determines that, in portions of the managementdatabase received subsequently from the storage manager, a second hashvalue matches a corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager.

In yet another example embodiment, a method for distributing managementof storage operations from a storage manager to a service interposedbetween clients and the storage manager in a data storage managementsystem, the method comprising: by a storage manager, transmitting one ormore portions of a management database to a group storage service thatexecutes on a first computing device, wherein each portion comprisesinformation that relates to clients in a client-group, wherein the firstcomputing device comprises one or more processors and computer memoryand hosts a client-group management database, wherein each client in theclient-group comprises a second computing device with one or moreprocessors and computer memory and further comprises a data agent thatexecutes thereon, and wherein the storage manager executes on a thirdcomputing device, and wherein the storage manager comprises themanagement database, which comprises information for managing storageoperations at a plurality of clients in the data storage managementsystem, including the clients in the client-group; by the storagemanager, computing and transmitting a first hash value for each of theone or more portions to the group storage service; by the group storageservice at the first computing device, computing a second hash value foreach portion received from the storage manager; and if the group storageservice determines that, for each received portion the second hash valuematches the corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager, (i) incorporating the received one or more portions into theclient-group management database at the first computing device, and (ii)managing storage operations for the clients in the client-group, basedon using the client-group management database, thereby distributingmanagement of the storage operations for the clients in the client-groupfrom the storage manager to the group storage service at the firstcomputing device.

The above-recited method wherein a first data agent at a first client ofthe client group communicates with the group storage service forperforming storage operations for data generated by the first client,and further wherein the first data agent does not communicate with thestorage manager for performing the storage operations for data generatedby the first client. The above-recited method wherein a first data agentat a first client of the client group communicates read requests to thegroup storage service for performing storage operations for datagenerated by the first client, which read requests are served by thegroup storage service from the client-group management database, andwherein the first data agent communicates write operations with thegroup storage service for performing the storage operations for the datagenerated by the first client, which are written by the group storageservice to the client-group management database. The above-recitedmethod wherein the client-group management database has a first schemathat is compatible with a second schema of the management database. Theabove-recited method wherein the management database at the storagemanager is synchronized with data from the client-group managementdatabase, based on the client-group management database and themanagement database having compatible schemas. The above-recited methodwherein each of the management database and the client-group managementdatabase is a relational database, wherein the management database andthe client-group management database have compatible schemas, andfurther wherein each portion of the management database is a row in atable. The above-recited method further comprising: if the group storageservice determines that, for at least one portion received from thestorage manager, the second hash value does not match the correspondingfirst hash value received from the storage manager, (a) notifying thestorage manager of a failed update, (b) declining to use theclient-group management database, and (c) enabling data agents at theclients in the client-group to communicate with the storage manager forperforming storage operations without using the client-group managementdatabase. The above-recited method further comprising: if the groupstorage service determines that, for at least one portion received fromthe storage manager, the second hash value does not match thecorresponding first hash value received from the storage manager, (a)notifying the storage manager of a failed update, (b) declining to usethe client-group management database, and (c) enabling data agents atthe clients in the client-group to communicate with the storage managerfor performing storage operations without using the client-groupmanagement database; and if the group storage service determines that,in a subsequent set of portions received from the storage manager, foreach received portion the second hash value matches the correspondingfirst hash value received from the storage manager, (i) incorporatingthe received one or more portions in the subsequent set into theclient-group management database at the first computing device, and (ii)managing storage operations for the clients in the client group, basedon using the client-group management database, thereby distributingmanagement of the storage operations for the clients in the client groupfrom the storage manager to the group storage service at the firstcomputing device.

In still another example embodiment, a data storage management systemfor distributing management of storage operations from a storage managerto a service interposed between clients and the storage manager, thesystem comprising: a first computing device comprising a group storageservice and a client-group management database, wherein the groupstorage service is associated with a client-group, and wherein eachclient in the client-group comprises a second computing device and adata agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; wherein the storage manager is configured to transmit oneor more portions of the management database to the group storage serviceon the first computing device, wherein each portion comprisesinformation that relates to one or more clients in the client-group, andwherein each portion is accompanied by a first hash value; wherein thegroup storage service at the first computing device is configured tocompute a second hash value for each portion received from the storagemanager; and wherein based on determining that for each received portionthe second hash value matches the corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, the group storage service is furtherconfigured to: (i) incorporate the received one or more portions intothe client-group management database at the first computing device, and(ii) manage storage operations for the clients in the client-group,based on using the client-group management database, therebydistributing management of the storage operations for the clients in theclient-group from the storage manager to the group storage service atthe first computing device.

In another illustrative embodiment, a data storage management system fordistributing management of storage operations from a storage manager toa service interposed between clients and the storage manager, the systemcomprising: a first computing device comprising a group storage serviceand a client-group management database; a client-group, wherein eachclient in the client-group comprises a second computing device and adata agent executing thereon that is associated with data generated bythe respective second computing device; a third computing devicecomprising a storage manager and a management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; wherein the storage manager is configured to transmit oneor more portions of the management database to the group storage serviceon the first computing device, wherein each portion comprisesinformation that relates to one or more clients in the client-group;wherein the storage manager is further configured to compute andtransmit a first hash value for each portion transmitted to the groupstorage service; wherein the group storage service at the firstcomputing device is configured to compute a second hash value for eachportion received from the storage manager; and wherein the group storageservice is further configured to, based on determining that for eachreceived portion the second hash value matches the corresponding firsthash value received from the storage manager: (i) incorporate thereceived one or more portions into the client-group management databaseat the first computing device, and (ii) manage storage operations forthe clients in the client-group, based on using the client-groupmanagement database, thereby distributing management of the storageoperations for the clients in the client-group from the storage managerto the group storage service at the first computing device.

The above-recited data storage management system wherein a first dataagent at a first client of the client group communicates with the groupstorage service for performing storage operations for data generated bythe first client, and further wherein the first data agent does notcommunicate with the storage manager for performing the storageoperations for data generated by the first client. The above-reciteddata storage management system wherein a first data agent at a firstclient of the client group communicates read requests with the groupstorage service for performing storage operations for data generated bythe first client, which read requests are served by the group storageservice from the client-group management database, and wherein the firstdata agent communicates write operations with the group storage servicefor performing the storage operations for the data generated by thefirst client, which are written by the group storage service to theclient-group management database. The above-recited data storagemanagement system wherein the client-group management database has afirst schema that is compatible with a second schema of the managementdatabase. The above-recited data storage management system wherein themanagement database at the storage manager is synchronized with datafrom the client-group management database, based on the client-groupmanagement database and the management database having compatibleschemas. The above-recited data storage management system wherein eachof the management database and the client-group management database is arelational database, wherein the management database and theclient-group management database have compatible schemas, and furtherwherein each portion of the management database is a row in a table. Theabove-recited data storage management system wherein the group storageservice is further configured to: based on determining that, for atleast one portion received from the storage manager, the second hashvalue does not match the corresponding first hash value received fromthe storage manager, the group storage service is further configured to:(a) notify the storage manager of a failed update, (b) decline to usethe client-group management database, and (c) enable data agents at theclients in the client-group to communicate with the storage manager forperforming storage operations without using the client-group managementdatabase. The above-recited data storage management system wherein thegroup storage service is further configured to: based on determiningthat, for at least one portion received from the storage manager, thesecond hash value does not match the corresponding first hash valuereceived from the storage manager, (a) notify the storage manager of afailed update, (b) decline to use the client-group management database,and (c) enable data agents at the clients in the client-group tocommunicate with the storage manager for performing storage operationswithout using the client-group management database, and based ondetermining that, in a subsequent set of portions received from thestorage manager, for each received portion the second hash value matchesthe corresponding first hash value received from the storage manager,(i) incorporate the received one or more portions in the subsequent setinto the client-group management database at the first computing device,and (ii) manage storage operations for the clients in the client group,based on using the client-group management database, therebydistributing management of the storage operations for the clients in theclient group from the storage manager to the group storage service atthe first computing device.

In yet another illustrative embodiment, a method for managing storageoperations by a service interposed between clients and a storage managerinstead of centrally managing the storage operations from the storagemanager in a data storage management system, the method comprising: by agroup storage service that executes on a first computing device,receiving one or more portions of a management database, wherein eachportion comprises information that relates to one or more clients in aclient-group, wherein the first computing device comprises one or moreprocessors and computer memory and hosts a client-group managementdatabase, wherein each client in the client-group comprises a secondcomputing device with one or more processors and computer memory andfurther comprises a data agent that executes thereon, and wherein theone or more portions of the management database are received from astorage manager that executes on a third computing device, and whereinthe storage manager comprises the management database that comprisesinformation for managing storage operations at a plurality of clients inthe data storage management system, including the clients in theclient-group; by the group storage service at the first computingdevice, further receiving from the storage manager a first hash valuecorresponding to each received portion; by the group storage service atthe first computing device, computing a second hash value for eachreceived portion; and if the group storage service determines that, foreach received portion, the second hash value matches the correspondingfirst hash value received from the storage manager, (i) incorporatingthe received one or more portions into the client-group managementdatabase at the first computing device, and (ii) using the client-groupmanagement database, to serve a first data agent at a first client inthe client-group for performing storage operations for data generated bythe first client.

The above-recited method wherein the group storage service at the firstcomputing device manages the storage operations for data generated bythe first client. The above-recited method wherein the group storageservice at the first computing device manages the storage operations fordata generated by the first client, and further wherein the first dataagent does not communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited method wherein the group storage service at the firstcomputing device manages the storage operations for data generated bythe first client, and further wherein the first data agent does notcommunicate read requests to the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited method wherein the first data agent does not communicateread requests to the storage manager for performing the storageoperations storage operations for data generated by the first client anddoes communicate write operations to the storage manager for performingthe storage operations storage operations for data generated by thefirst client. The above-recited method wherein the client-groupmanagement database has a first schema that is compatible with a secondschema for the management database. The above-recited method wherein themanagement database at the storage manager is synchronized with datafrom the client-group management database, based on the client-groupmanagement database and the management database having compatibleschemas. The above-recited method wherein each of the managementdatabase and the client-group management database is a relationaldatabase, wherein the management database and the client-groupmanagement database have compatible schemas, and further wherein eachportion of the management database is a row in a table. Theabove-recited method further comprising: if the group storage servicedetermines that, for at least one portion received from the storagemanager, the second hash value does not match the corresponding firsthash value received from the storage manager, (a) notifying the storagemanager of a failed update, (b) declining to use the client-groupmanagement database for managing storage operations for the clients inthe client-group, and (c) enabling the first data agent at the firstclient to communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited method further comprising: if the group storage servicedetermines that, for at least one portion received from the storagemanager, the second hash value does not match the corresponding firsthash value received from the storage manager, (a) notifying the storagemanager of a failed update, (b) declining to use the client-groupmanagement database for managing storage operations for the clients inthe client-group, and (c) enabling the first data agent at the firstclient to communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client until thegroup storage service determines that, in portions of the managementdatabase received subsequently from the storage manager, a second hashvalue matches a corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager.

In still another illustrative embodiment, a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by afirst computing device, cause the first computing device to performoperations comprising: by a group storage service that executes on thefirst computing device, receiving one or more portions of a managementdatabase, wherein each portion comprises information that relates to oneor more clients in a client-group, wherein the first computing devicehosts a client-group management database, wherein each client in theclient-group comprises a second computing device with one or moreprocessors and computer memory and further comprises a data agent thatexecutes thereon, and wherein the one or more portions of the managementdatabase are received from a storage manager that executes on a thirdcomputing device, and wherein the storage manager comprises themanagement database that comprises information for managing storageoperations at a plurality of clients in the data storage managementsystem, including the clients in the client-group; by the group storageservice at the first computing device, further receiving from thestorage manager a first hash value corresponding to each receivedportion; by the group storage service at the first computing device,computing a second hash value for each received portion; and if thegroup storage service at the first computing device determines that, foreach received portion, the second hash value matches the correspondingfirst hash value received from the storage manager, the group storageservice is configured to: (i) incorporate the received one or moreportions into the client-group management database at the firstcomputing device, and (ii) use the client-group management database toserve a first data agent at a first client in the client-group forperforming storage operations for data generated by the first client.

The above-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein thegroup storage service at the first computing device manages the storageoperations for data generated by the first client. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the group storageservice at the first computing device manages the storage operations fordata generated by the first client, and further wherein the first dataagent does not communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the groupstorage service at the first computing device manages the storageoperations for data generated by the first client, and further whereinthe first data agent does not communicate read requests to the storagemanager for performing the storage operations for data generated by thefirst client. The above-recited non-transitory computer-readable mediumwherein the first data agent does not communicate read requests to thestorage manager for performing the storage operations storage operationsfor data generated by the first client and does communicate writeoperations to the storage manager for performing the storage operationsstorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein theclient-group management database has a first schema that is compatiblewith a second schema for the management database. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium wherein the management databaseat the storage manager is synchronized with data from the client-groupmanagement database, based on the client-group management database andthe management database having compatible schemas. The above-recitednon-transitory computer-readable medium wherein each of the managementdatabase and the client-group management database is a relationaldatabase, wherein the management database and the client-groupmanagement database have compatible schemas, and further wherein eachportion of the management database is a row in a table. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein if thegroup storage service determines that, for at least one portion receivedfrom the storage manager, the second hash value does not match thecorresponding first hash value received from the storage manager, thegroup storage service is further configured to: (a) notify the storagemanager of a failed update, (b) decline to use the client-groupmanagement database for managing storage operations for the clients inthe client-group, and (c) enable the first data agent at the firstclient to communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client. Theabove-recited non-transitory computer-readable medium wherein if thegroup storage service determines that, for at least one portion receivedfrom the storage manager, the second hash value does not match thecorresponding first hash value received from the storage manager, thegroup storage service is further configured to: (a) notify the storagemanager of a failed update, (b) decline to use the client-groupmanagement database for managing storage operations for the clients inthe client-group, and (c) enable the first data agent at the firstclient to communicate with the storage manager for performing thestorage operations for data generated by the first client until thegroup storage service determines that, in portions of the managementdatabase received subsequently from the storage manager, a second hashvalue matches a corresponding first hash value received from the storagemanager.

Terminology

Conditional language, such as, among others, “can,” “could,” “might,” or“may,” unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understoodwithin the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements and/or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements and/or steps are inany way required for one or more embodiments or that one or moreembodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without userinput or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or steps areincluded or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense, i.e., in the sense of “including, but notlimited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or anyvariant thereof means any connection or coupling, either direct orindirect, between two or more elements; the coupling or connectionbetween the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, refer to this application as awhole and not to any particular portions of this application. Where thecontext permits, words using the singular or plural number may alsoinclude the plural or singular number respectively. The word “or” inreference to a list of two or more items, covers all of the followinginterpretations of the word: any one of the items in the list, all ofthe items in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.Likewise the term “and/or” in reference to a list of two or more items,covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any one of theitems in the list, all of the items in the list, and any combination ofthe items in the list.

In some embodiments, certain operations, acts, events, or functions ofany of the algorithms described herein can be performed in a differentsequence, can be added, merged, or left out altogether (e.g., not allare necessary for the practice of the algorithms). In certainembodiments, operations, acts, functions, or events can be performedconcurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing, interruptprocessing, or multiple processors or processor cores or on otherparallel architectures, rather than sequentially.

Systems and modules described herein may comprise software, firmware,hardware, or any combination(s) of software, firmware, or hardwaresuitable for the purposes described. Software and other modules mayreside and execute on servers, workstations, personal computers,computerized tablets, PDAs, and other computing devices suitable for thepurposes described herein. Software and other modules may be accessiblevia local computer memory, via a network, via a browser, or via othermeans suitable for the purposes described herein. Data structuresdescribed herein may comprise computer files, variables, programmingarrays, programming structures, or any electronic information storageschemes or methods, or any combinations thereof, suitable for thepurposes described herein. User interface elements described herein maycomprise elements from graphical user interfaces, interactive voiceresponse, command line interfaces, and other suitable interfaces.

Further, processing of the various components of the illustrated systemscan be distributed across multiple machines, networks, and othercomputing resources. Two or more components of a system can be combinedinto fewer components. Various components of the illustrated systems canbe implemented in one or more virtual machines, rather than in dedicatedcomputer hardware systems and/or computing devices. Likewise, the datarepositories shown can represent physical and/or logical data storage,including, e.g., storage area networks or other distributed storagesystems. Moreover, in some embodiments the connections between thecomponents shown represent possible paths of data flow, rather thanactual connections between hardware. While some examples of possibleconnections are shown, any of the subset of the components shown cancommunicate with any other subset of components in variousimplementations.

Embodiments are also described above with reference to flow chartillustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) andcomputer program products. Each block of the flow chart illustrationsand/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flow chartillustrations and/or block diagrams, may be implemented by computerprogram instructions. Such instructions may be provided to a processorof a general purpose computer, special purpose computer,specially-equipped computer (e.g., comprising a high-performancedatabase server, a graphics subsystem, etc.) or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor(s) of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing the actsspecified in the flow chart and/or block diagram block or blocks. Thesecomputer program instructions may also be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to operate in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readablememory produce an article of manufacture including instruction meanswhich implement the acts specified in the flow chart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also beloaded to a computing device or other programmable data processingapparatus to cause operations to be performed on the computing device orother programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented processsuch that the instructions which execute on the computing device orother programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the actsspecified in the flow chart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

Any patents and applications and other references noted above, includingany that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporatedherein by reference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, ifnecessary, to employ the systems, functions, and concepts of the variousreferences described above to provide yet further implementations of theinvention. These and other changes can be made to the invention in lightof the above Detailed Description. While the above description describescertain examples of the invention, and describes the best modecontemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, theinvention can be practiced in many ways. Details of the system may varyconsiderably in its specific implementation, while still beingencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics,features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology isassociated. In general, the terms used in the following claims shouldnot be construed to limit the invention to the specific examplesdisclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Descriptionsection explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope ofthe invention encompasses not only the disclosed examples, but also allequivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention under theclaims.

To reduce the number of claims, certain aspects of the invention arepresented below in certain claim forms, but the applicant contemplatesother aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Forexample, while only one aspect of the invention is recited as ameans-plus-function claim under 35 U.S.C sec. 112(f) (AIA), otheraspects may likewise be embodied as a means-plus-function claim, or inother forms, such as being embodied in a computer-readable medium. Anyclaims intended to be treated under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) will begin withthe words “means for,” but use of the term “for” in any other context isnot intended to invoke treatment under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f). Accordingly,the applicant reserves the right to pursue additional claims afterfiling this application, in either this application or in a continuingapplication.

What is claimed is:
 1. A data storage management system for usingclients to manage storage operations, the system comprising: a firstclient comprising a first computing device, a client storage service, aclient management database, and a data agent associated with datagenerated by the first computing device; a storage manager comprising asecond computing device; a management database, which is maintained bythe storage manager, and which comprises information for managingstorage operations in the data storage management system, including formanaging storage operations at the first client; wherein the storagemanager is configured to find one or more portions of the managementdatabase comprising information relating to the first client; andwherein the first computing device executing the client storage serviceis configured to: receive from the storage manager the one or moreportions of the management database comprising information relating tothe first client, each portion accompanied by a corresponding first hashvalue therefor computed by the storage manager, based on determiningthat every first hash value matches a respective second hash value foreach portion as computed by the first client, (i) incorporate the one ormore portions into the client management database at the first computingdevice, and (ii) manage storage operations for data generated by thefirst computing device by using the client management database at thefirst client to serve the data agent, and based on determining that, forat least one portion received from the storage manager, the first hashvalue received from the storage manager does not match the respectivesecond hash value as computed by the first client, (a) notify thestorage manager of a failed update to the client management database,(b) decline to use the client management database, and (c) enablecommunications between the storage manager and the data agent forperforming the storage operations for the first client.
 2. The datastorage management system of claim 1, wherein the first computing deviceexecuting the client storage service is further configured to managebacking up the client management database using the data agent.
 3. Thedata storage management system of claim 1, wherein the first computingdevice executing the client storage service is further configured tomanage the storage operations for data generated by the first computingdevice by at least one of: issuing instructions to the data agent,serving reads to the data agent from the client management database, andserving writes issued by the data agent into the client managementdatabase.
 4. The data storage management system of claim 1, wherein thefirst computing device executing the client storage service is furtherconfigured to manage the storage operations for data generated by thefirst computing device by at least one of: issuing instructions to amedia agent component of the data storage management system that iscommunicatively coupled to secondary storage devices for storingsecondary copies of the data generated by the first computing device,and updating the client management database with information obtainedfrom the media agent.
 5. The data storage management system of claim 1,wherein the management database maintained by the storage manager andthe client management database at the first client periodicallysynchronize with each other based on having compatible schemas.
 6. Thedata storage management system of claim 1, wherein each of themanagement database maintained by the storage manager and the clientmanagement database is a relational database, and wherein each portionof the management database is a table having a schema compatible withthe client management database.
 7. The data storage management system ofclaim 1, wherein the storage manager is further configured to: transmita first portion of the management database to the first client only if afirst hash value corresponding to the first portion and presentlycomputed by the storage manager differs from a third hash valuecorresponding to the first portion and previously computed by thestorage manager, and refrain from transmitting the first portion to thefirst client if the first hash value matches the second hash value. 8.The data storage management system of claim 1, wherein the firstcomputing device executing the client storage service is furtherconfigured to: transmit an update of a second portion of the clientmanagement database to the storage manager, only if a third hash valuefor the second portion presently computed by the first client differsfrom a fourth hash value for the second portion as previously computedby the first client, and refrain from transmitting the second portion tothe storage manager if the third hash value matches the fourth hashvalue.
 9. The data storage management system of claim 1, wherein thestorage manager is further configured to: in response to being notifiedof the failed update to the client management database at the firstclient, queue up a request for updating the first client.
 10. The datastorage management system of claim 1, wherein the storage manager isfurther configured to: set a trigger for detecting changes in a firsttable in the management database that comprises information pertainingto the first client, copy into a capture table one or more rows thatchanged in the first table, and based on determining that the firstclient is online, extract from the capture table into an extractedclient table each row that comprises information relating to the firstclient, wherein the one or more portions of the management databasecomprising information relating to the first client received by thefirst client comprise the extracted client table.
 11. The data storagemanagement system of claim 10, wherein the storage manager is furtherconfigured to: add an operation indicator to each row in the extractedclient table, wherein the operation indicator indicates whether the rowcomprises changed information, new information, or information markeddeleted, and apply a hash function to the extracted client table,resulting in a third hash value.
 12. A data storage management systemfor managing storage operations by a group storage service interposedbetween clients and a storage manager, the system comprising: a firstcomputing device comprising a group storage service and a client-groupmanagement database; a client-group comprising at least one client,wherein each client in the client-group comprises a second computingdevice and a data agent executing thereon that is associated with datagenerated by the respective second computing device; a storage managercomprising a third computing device; a management database, which ismaintained by the storage manager, and which comprises information formanaging storage operations in the data storage management system,including for managing storage operations at the client-group; whereinthe storage manager is configured to find one or more portions of themanagement database comprising information relating to at least oneclient in the client-group; and wherein the first computing deviceexecuting the group storage service is configured to: receive from thestorage manager the one or more portions of the management databasecomprising information relating to the client-group, each portionaccompanied by a corresponding first hash value therefor computed by thestorage manager, based on determining that every first hash valuematches a respective second hash value for each portion as computed bythe first computing device, (i) incorporate the one or more portionsinto the client-group management database at the first computing device,and (ii) manage storage operations for data generated by each client ofthe client-group by using the client-group management database at thefirst computing device to communicate with a data agent at each clientof the client-group, and based on determining that, for at least oneportion received from the storage manager, the first hash value receivedfrom the storage manager does not match the respective second hash valueas computed by the first computing device, (a) notify the storagemanager of a failed update to the client-group management database, (b)decline to use the client-group management database, and (c) enablecommunications between the storage manager and the data agent at eachclient of the client-group for performing the storage operations at theclient-group.
 13. The data storage management system of claim 12,wherein the first computing device executing the group storage serviceis further configured to manage the storage operations for datagenerated by each client of the client-group by at least one of: issuinginstructions to a first data agent at a first client of theclient-group, serving reads to the first data agent from the clientmanagement database, and writing new information issued by the firstdata agent into the client management database.
 14. The data storagemanagement system of claim 12, wherein the first computing deviceexecuting the client storage service is further configured to manage thestorage operations for data generated by each client of the client-groupby at least one of: issuing instructions to a media agent component ofthe data storage management system that is communicatively coupled tosecondary storage devices for storing secondary copies of the datagenerated by each client of the client-group, and updating theclient-group management database with information obtained from themedia agent.
 15. The data storage management system of claim 12, whereinthe management database maintained by the storage manager and theclient-group management database at the first computing deviceperiodically synchronize with each other based on having compatibleschemas.
 16. The data storage management system of claim 12, whereineach of the management database maintained by the storage manager andthe client-group management database is a relational database, andwherein each portion of the management database is a table having aschema compatible with the client-group management database.
 17. Thedata storage management system of claim 12, wherein the storage manageris further configured to: transmit a first portion of the managementdatabase to the first computing device only if a first hash valuecorresponding to the first portion and presently computed by the storagemanager differs from a third hash value corresponding to the firstportion and previously computed by the storage manager, and refrain fromtransmitting the first portion to the first computing device if thefirst hash value matches the second hash value.
 18. The data storagemanagement system of claim 12, wherein the first computing deviceexecuting the group storage service is further configured to: transmitan update of a second portion of the client-group management database tothe storage manager only if a third hash value for the second portionpresently computed by the first computing device differs from a fourthhash value for the second portion as previously computed by the firstcomputing device, and refrain from transmitting the second portion tothe storage manager if the third hash value matches the fourth hashvalue.
 19. The data storage management system of claim 12, wherein thestorage manager is further configured to: in response to being notifiedof the failed update to the client-group management database at theclient-group, queue up a request for updating the client-groupmanagement database at another time.
 20. The data storage managementsystem of claim 12, wherein the storage manager is further configuredto: set a trigger for detecting changes in a first table in themanagement database that comprises information pertaining to theclient-group, copy into a capture table one or more rows that changed inthe first table, and based on determining that the first computingdevice is online, extract from the capture table into an extractedclient table each row that comprises information relating to theclient-group, wherein the one or more portions of the managementdatabase comprising information relating to the client-group received bythe first computing device comprise the extracted client table; andwherein the storage manager is further configured to: add an operationindicator to each row in the extracted client table, wherein theoperation indicator indicates whether the row comprises changedinformation, new information, or information marked deleted, and apply ahash function to the extracted client table, resulting in a third hashvalue.